Effects of the installation of offshore pipelines on macrozoobenthic communities (northern and central Adriatic Sea).

Macrozoobenthos living around several pipelines placed at different depths and sediment types in the Western Adriatic Sea was investigated for three years after structures' deployment to detect possible effects due to their installation and presence. Three environmental habitats were considered based on the grain size (silty clay, clayey silt and sand). Samplings were taken within a radius of 100 m from the pipelines and at control sites. Multivariate and univariate analysis showed peculiarities of the three habitats due to the different sediment type, without differences between pipelines and controls inside each group. Silty clay and clayey silt communities appeared quite similar, being mainly represented by opportunistic species typical of the Adriatic coastal area. Benthic populations found at the offshore relict sand were characterized by a higher percentage of sensitive species. Independently of sediment typology, pipelines' installation seems to not affect the benthic populations that appear more influenced by environmental features.

Environmental Impact of Offshore Gas Activities on the Benthic Environment: A Case Study.

Multidisciplinary monitoring of the impact of offshore gas platforms on northern and central Adriatic marine ecosystems has been conducted since 1998. Beginning in 2006, 4-5 year investigations spanning the period before, during, and after rig installation have explored the effects of its construction and presence on macrozoobenthic communities, sediment, water quality, pollutant bioaccumulation, and fish assemblages. In this study, sediment samples collected at increasing distance from an offshore gas platform before, during and after its construction were subjected to chemical analysis and assessment of benthic communities. Ecological indices were calculated to evaluate the ecological status of the area. Ecotoxicological analysis of sediment was performed to establish whether pollutants are transferred to biota. The study applied a before-after control-impact design to assess the effects of rig construction and presence and provide reference data on the possible impacts of any further expansion of the gas extraction industry in the already heavily exploited Adriatic Sea. Only some of the metals investigated (barium, chromium, cadmium, and zinc) showed a different spatial and/or temporal distribution that may be platform-related. In the early phases, the sediment concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were below the detection limit at all sites; they then became detectable, but without significant spatial differences. The present findings suggest that the environmental effects of offshore gas platforms may be difficult to quantify, interpret, and generalize, because they are influenced by numerous, often local, abiotic, and biotic variables in different and unpredictable ways.

CDKN2A and BAP1 germline mutations predispose to melanoma and mesothelioma.

BAP1 germline mutations predispose to a cancer predisposition syndrome that includes mesothelioma, cutaneous melanoma, uveal melanoma and other cancers. This co-occurrence suggests that these tumors share a common carcinogenic pathway. To evaluate this hypothesis, we studied 40 Italian families with mesothelioma and/or melanoma. The probands were sequenced for BAP1 and for the most common melanoma predisposition genes (i.e. CDKN2A, CDK4, TERT, MITF and POT1) to investigate if these genes may also confer susceptibility to mesothelioma. In two out of six families with both mesothelioma and melanoma we identified either a germline nonsense mutation (c.1153C > T, p.Arg385*) in BAP1 or a recurrent pathogenic germline mutation (c.301G > T, p.Gly101Trp) in CDKN2A. Our study suggests that CDKN2A, in addition to BAP1, could be involved in the melanoma and mesothelioma susceptibility, leading to the rare familial cancer syndromes. It also suggests that these tumors share key steps that drive carcinogenesis and that other genes may be involved in inherited predisposition to malignant mesothelioma and melanoma.

Trophic structure of polychaetes around an offshore gas platform.

The distribution of polychaetes associated with an offshore gas platform built on a muddy-sandy bottom in the northern Adriatic Sea was investigated with emphasis on their feeding structure. Polychaete species were collected at different distances from the rig using a Van Veen grab. Assessment of the polychaete community and trophic groups for impacts related to the presence of the platform demonstrated significantly different abundances at rising distances from the rig. The present findings highlight an effect of the rig on the spatial distribution of polychaete assemblages. Even though the effects of gas platforms on surrounding benthic communities have been investigated in the Adriatic Sea, no studies have addressed the distribution of polychaete trophic groups along a gradient based on distance from the rig.

The regioselective binding of CHCl3 reactive intermediates to microsomal phospholipids.

Microsomal phospholipids (PL) are a good target for the reactive intermediates produced by either the oxidative or the reductive biotransformation of CHCl3 (Testai et al. (1990), Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 104, 496-503). In order to preliminarily characterize the different PL with CHCl3 reactive intermediates, two common methods of PL breakdown have been exploited: the acid-catalyzed transmethylation and the enzymatic hydrolysis with phospholipase C. The results indicated that radioactivity derived from the adducts of PL with the oxidation metabolite, phosgene, partitioned preferentially in the aqueous phase (the ratio of aqueous to organic phase radioactivity contents was about 10); the opposite occurred (ratio about 0.1) when the PL adducts were produced by the reductive process metabolites (dichloromethyl radicals). Therefore, the two methods of PL adduct breakdown can be used to detect and quantitate selectively the two reactive intermediates of CHCl3 biotransformation. The use of phospholipase C, which specifically cleaves the bond between the glyceryl-oxygen and the phosphor atom of PL also gave some structural information. Indeed, the radioactivity partitioning in the aqueous phase after enzymatic hydrolysis of CHCl3 oxidation-associated PL adducts, indicated the selective covalent binding of phosgene residues with the PL polar heads. The clear-cut different partition of radioactivity observed after hydrolysis of PL adducts with CHCl3 reduction intermediates, analogously indicated that dichloromethyl radicals were selectively bound to the PL fatty acyl chains. Using this method we could confirm that in in vitro experimental conditions resembling the physiological status of the liver, both metabolic pathways were concurrently active in hepatic microsomes of B6C3F1 mice. Extents of reactive metabolites similar to those found in B6C3F1 mouse liver microsomes, could be measured in Sprague-Dawley rat liver microsomes only after pretreatment of the animals with PB and incubation with higher CHCl3 concentrations. The toxicological implications of these findings are discussed.