@article {275,
	title = {Emerging investigator series: nontargeted screening of aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonists in endangered beluga whales from the St. Lawrence Estuary: beyond legacy contaminants.},
	journal = {Environ Sci Process Impacts},
	volume = {26},
	year = {2024},
	month = {2024 Sep 18},
	pages = {1451-1464},
	abstract = {<p>The elevated concentrations of organohalogen contaminants in the endangered St. Lawrence Estuary (SLE) belugas have prompted the hypothesis that aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activity may be a contributor towards their potential adverse effects. While indirect associations between AhR and contaminant levels have been reported in SLE beluga tissues, AhR activity was never directly measured. Using bioassays and nontargeted analysis, this study contrasted AhR activity and agonist profiles between pooled tissue extracts of endangered SLE and non-threatened Arctic belugas. Tissue extracts of SLE belugas exhibited significantly higher overall AhR activity than that of Arctic belugas, with a 2000s SLE beluga liver extract exerting significantly higher activity than blubber extracts of SLE and Arctic belugas from the same time period. Contrary to our expectations, well-known AhR agonists detected by nontargeted analysis, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), were only minor contributors to the observed AhR activity. Instead, Tox21 suspect screening identified more polar chemicals, such as dyes and natural indoles, as potential contributors. Notably, the natural product bromoindole was selectively detected in SLE beluga liver at high abundance and was further confirmed as an AhR agonist. These findings highlighted the significance of the AhR-mediated toxicity pathway in belugas and underscored the importance of novel AhR agonists, particularly polar compounds, in its induction.</p>},
	keywords = {Animals, Beluga Whale, Endangered Species, Environmental Monitoring, Estuaries, Liver, Polychlorinated Biphenyls, Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon, Water Pollutants, Chemical},
	issn = {2050-7895},
	doi = {10.1039/d4em00243a},
	author = {Barrett, Holly and Sun, Jianxian and Chen, Yuhao and Yang, Diwen and Verreault, Jonathan and Houde, Magali and Wania, Frank and Peng, Hui}
}
@article {196,
	title = {Triclosan is the Predominant Antibacterial Compound in Ontario Sewage Sludge},
	journal = {Environmental Science and Technology},
	volume = {56},
	year = {2022},
	author = {Barrett, Holly and Sun, Jianxian and Gong, Yufeng and Yang, Paul and Hao, Chunyan and Verreault, Jonathan and Zhang, Yu and Peng, Hui}
}
@article {145,
	title = {Suspect and Nontarget Screening Revealed Class-Specific Temporal Trends (2000-2017) of Poly- and Perfluoroalkyl Substances in St. Lawrence Beluga Whales.},
	journal = {Environ Sci Technol},
	year = {2021},
	month = {2021 Jan 14},
	abstract = {<p>The global use of \&gt;3000 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) has given rise to chemical regulatory action. However, limited information exists regarding current and historical emissions for the majority of PFASs under currently implemented regulations. This study employed suspect and nontarget screening to examine the temporal trends of legacy and unregulated PFASs in liver of the endangered beluga whale () population from the St. Lawrence Estuary in Canada collected from 2000 to 2017. A suite of 54 PFASs were tentatively identified, and were grouped into nine structurally distinct classes. Single-hydrogenated perfluoro carboxylic acids (H-PFCAs), single-hydrogenated sulfonamides (H-Sulfonamides), as well as other select sulfonamides were detected for the first time in wildlife. Greater concentrations of the majority of PFASs were determined in newborns and juveniles than in adults, suggesting effective placental and lactational transfer of PFASs. Legacy per- and polyfluoroalkyl acids and perfluorooctane sulfonamide in beluga whale liver were found to significantly decrease in concentration between 2000 and 2017, while unregulated short-chain PFAS alternatives, H-PFCAs, and odd-chain FTCAs were found to increase over time. The implementation of suspect and nontarget screening revealed class-specific temporal trends of PFASs in SLE beluga whales, and supported continuous emissions of unregulated PFASs into the environment.</p>},
	issn = {1520-5851},
	doi = {10.1021/acs.est.0c05957},
	author = {Barrett, Holly and Du, Xuan and Houde, Magali and Lair, St{\'e}phane and Verreault, Jonathan and Peng, Hui}
}
