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Biochemistry/Physiology Branch
Don Tillitt, Branch Chief
The Biochemistry and Physiology Branch develops analytical techniques (i.e.,
cell bioassay/immunoassay) to quantitate exposure and estimate toxicity in both
lab and field studies with fish and wildlife; and conducts basic and applied
research in microbiology and at the cellular, organ and organismal levels of
organization in animals. Emphasis is on sublethal effects of chemicals that lead
to behavioral, developmental, and population level effects, that ultimately can
influence ecosystem health. In addition, Branch scientists study the biochemical
mechanism(s) of contaminants in order to develop and validate sublethal
indicators of chemical stress. The Branch has three sections: Biochemistry, Physiology,
and Microbiology.
In the 
Chemicals Blamed for Lake Trout Decline in the Great Lakes---(Duluth News
Tribune, November 6, 2003) "The collapse of Lake Ontario's lake trout
population decades ago was spurred more by toxic dioxin than by sea lampreys or
commercial fishing."
Contact: Don Tillitt,
Biochemistry/Physiology
Environmental
Experts to Assess Pacific Atoll---October 17, 2002 Columbia Missourian.
"Four local scientists and piles of equipment from Columbia will travel
to the South Pacific to determine whether a former toxic dump is suitable for
use as a wildlife refuge. The group of experts from the U.S. Geological Survey
Columbia Environmental Research Center will conduct a chemical analysis of
sediment and blood and liver samples from adult fish at Johnston Atoll, a U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service refuge 800 miles southwest of Hawaii. Their research
will determine whether the land is safe as a fish and wildlife habitat."
Contact: Don Tillitt,
Biochemistry/Physiology
Current Research
- Endocrine
disrupting chemicals: Reproductive developmental effects in medaka; development
of a model fish assay the effects of chemicals on gonadal development
and sexual differentiation
- Interactive effects of low
thiamine (vitamin B1) and dioxin-like chemicals on lake
trout recruitment in the Great Lakes
- The role
of thiaminase activity in Great
Lake forage fish in generating low thiamine in lake trout
- Vascular toxicity as the critical mode of action of dioxin
in embryos
- Development and application of methods for rapid chemical analysis based
on immunochemicals
- Pulp and paper mill effluents: chemical characterization and toxicity
assessment
- Fish reproductive health assessment in
PCB
contaminated regions of the Housatonic River, Massachusetts, USA:
Investigations of causal linkages between PCBs and fish health
- BEST: EROD and
H4IIE biomarker
analysis and synthesis document generation
- Development of physiological measures of acute and chronic chemical
neurotoxicity in laboratory and field collected samples: aquatic and
terrestrial species; joint studies with
Ecology
Branch
- Physiological measurements of UVB exposed aquatic species; joint studies
with Ecology Branch
- Assessment of cyanobacterial toxins (hepatotoxins) and water quality
characteristics in lakes and reservoirs; development of in vitro
assays for assessing cyanobacterial neurotoxins
- Microassays to assess toxicity of environmental chemicals from sediments, semi-permeable
membrane devices and oil spills
Biochemistry and Physiology Staff
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