Complete mitochondrial DNA genomes for two northeast Pacific mesopelagic fishes, the Mexican lampfish (Triphoturus mexicanus) and black-belly dragonfish (Stomias atriventer).

Mesopelagic fishes are an important component of marine ecosystems, providing an important link between lower and higher trophic levels. This group of fishes are also highly abundant and make up a large portion of the marine vertebrate biomass. Here we report on the full mitochondrial sequences for two common mesopelagic fishes from the southern California bight: the Mexican lampfish Triphoturus mexicanus (Actinopterygii: Myctophidae) and the black-belly dragonfish Stomias atriventer (Actinopterygii: Stomiidae). T. mexicanus showed previously reported gene rearrangements for the Myctophidae. Phylogenetic analysis grouped S. atriventer with other Stomiiformes and T. mexicanus within the Myctophiformes.

Assessment of exposure and susceptibility to aromatic amine carcinogens.

As a consequence of human exposure to carcinogenic aromatic amines, biochemical approaches to risk assessment have emphasized metabolic determinants of individual susceptibility and quantification of arylamine-macromolecular adducts. A known genetic polymorphism in humans, hepatic arylamine acetyltransferase activity, has been associated with differences in individual susceptibility to urinary bladder (slow acetylators) and colorectal (rapid acetylators) cancers. Similarly, the high specificity of an inducible human cytochrome P450 towards the N-oxidation of 4-aminobiphenyl and other aromatic amines is consistent with metabolic differences that can be used to predict relative human risk. Exposure to aromatic amines has also been documented, primarily by quantification of adducts with protein or DNA. Using 32P-postlabelling methods and a competitive avidin/biotin-amplified enzyme-linked immunoassay, we have estimated 4-aminobiphenyl-DNA adduct levels in surgical samples of human peripheral lung and urinary bladder epithelium and report values ranging from 2 to 97 adducts per 10(8) nucleotides.

Congenital malformations associated with the administration of oral anticoagulants during pregnancy.

Three small infants whose mothers had received oral anticoagulant therapy during the first trimester of pregnancy are described. These infants all had hypoplasia of the nasal bones, and two had stippling of epiphyses and bones and deformities of the bones of the hand. One child is mentally retarded. It is suggested that these abnormalities may be related to maternal oral anticoagulant therapy during the first trimester.