Population genetic structure and tolerance to dioxin-like compounds of a migratory marine fish (Menidia menidia) at polychlorinated biphenyl-contaminated and reference sites.

The present study was conducted to evaluate evidence of genetic adaptation to local contaminants in populations of the migratory marine fish Menidia menidia residing seasonally in reference sites or an industrial harbor contaminated with dioxin-like compounds (DLCs). For this purpose, we compared DLC sensitivity and genetic patterns of populations sampled from sites both inside and outside New Bedford Harbor (NBH; MA, USA), a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site with extreme polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination. Offspring of M. menidia collected from NBH were significantly less sensitive regarding embryonic exposure to the dioxin-like PCB congener 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB 126) than offspring of M. menidia from a reference site. Analysis of 10 polymorphic enzymatic loci indicated little genetic differentiation among populations in the study area. However, genotype frequencies of juveniles from both NBH and an adjacent site in Massachusetts exhibited significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium expectations at one locus, phosphoglucomutase (PGM*). Genetic analysis of survivors of embryonic laboratory exposure to PCB 126 indicated that genotypes at PGM* were related to survivorship. Although a relationship was identified between DLC tolerance and PGM* genotype, regional mixing of M. menidia populations during migration and absence of multigeneration exposure at contaminated sites may limit localized adaptation.