Methylmercury and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Mediterranean Seafood: A Molecular Anthropological Perspective

Eating seafood has numerous health benefits; however, it constitutes one of the main sources of exposure to several harmful environmental pollutants, both of anthropogenic and natural origin. Among these, methylmercury and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons give rise to concerns related to their possi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied sciences 2021-12, Vol.11 (23), p.11179
Main Authors: De Giovanni, Andrea, Giuliani, Cristina, Marini, Mauro, Luiselli, Donata
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anthropogenic factors
anthropology
Bioaccumulation
Biological effects
Biomarkers
Case studies
Climate change
Crustaceans
Dimethylmercury
DNA methylation
ecogenetics
environmental pollutants
Epidemiology
Epigenetics
Fish
Food contamination & poisoning
Genetic diversity
genetic polymorphisms
Genomes
Hair
Human influences
Metabolism
Metabolites
Methylmercury
Pollutants
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
review
Seafood
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Eating seafood has numerous health benefits; however, it constitutes one of the main sources of exposure to several harmful environmental pollutants, both of anthropogenic and natural origin. Among these, methylmercury and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons give rise to concerns related to their possible effects on human biology. In the present review, we summarize the results of epidemiological investigations on the genetic component of individual susceptibility to methylmercury and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons exposure in humans, and on the effects that these two pollutants have on human epigenetic profiles (DNA methylation). Then, we provide evidence that Mediterranean coastal communities represent an informative case study to investigate the potential impact of methylmercury and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on the human genome and epigenome, since they are characterized by a traditionally high local seafood consumption, and given the characteristics that render the Mediterranean Sea particularly polluted. Finally, we discuss the challenges of a molecular anthropological approach to this topic.
ISSN:2076-3417
2076-3417
DOI:10.3390/app112311179