Induced minisatellite germline mutations in herring gulls (Larus argentatus) living near steel mills

Despite widespread industrial release of genotoxic contaminants, little is understood of their role in inducing germline mutations in natural populati ons. We used multilocus DNA fingerprinting to quantify germline minisatelli te mutations in families of herring gulls (Larus argentatus) in three nesti ng categories: (a) near cities with large steel mills operating coking oven s; (b) near cities without steel mills; and (c) in rural locations removed from point sources of contamination. Gulls nesting near integrated steel mi lls showed significantly higher mutation rates than gulls from rural locati ons (Fisher's exact, P = 0.0004); urban sites without steel mills fell midw ay between steel and rural sites (difference from rural; Fisher's exact, P = 0.19). Distance of the nesting location of herring gulls from the steel i ndustries' coking ovens was negatively correlated with minisatellite mutati on rate demonstrating significant risk for induced germline mutations in ci ties with steel operations (Kendall Tau; tau = 0.119; P < 0.0001). (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.