Mercury (Hg) exposure has not been examined in many recreational nearshore fish species that are commonly consumed around the Hawaiian Islands. Specific gene transcripts, such as metallothionein (MET) and thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), can be used to examine Hg exposure responses in aquatic organisms. This study measured total mercury (THg) in four species from two groups of Hawaiian nearshore fishes: giant trevally (Caranx ignobilis, n = 13), bluefin trevally (C. melampygus, n = 4), sharp jaw bonefish (Albula virgata, n = 2), and round jaw bonefish (A. glossodonta, n = 19). Total Hg accumulation and abundance profiles of MET and TrxR were evaluated for muscle, liver, and kidney tissues. Total Hg in round jaw bonefish and giant trevally tissues accumulated with length and calculated age. In round jaw bonefish tissues, mean THg was greater in kidney (1156 ng/g wet mass (wm)) than liver (339 ng/g wm) and muscle (330 ng/g wm). Giant trevally muscle (187 ng/g wm) and liver (277 ng/g wm) mean THg did not differ significantly. Fish species in this study were compared to commercial and local fish species with state and federal muscle tissue consumption advisories based on THg benchmarks developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Both bonefishes had mean muscle THg that exceeded benchmarks suggesting consumption advisories should be considered. MET transcript in round jaw bonefish kidney tissue and kidney THg exhibited a marginally significant positive correlation, while TrxR transcript in liver tissue negatively correlated with increasing liver THg. These results contribute to our understanding of Hg exposure associated health effects in fish.

尚未对夏威夷群岛周围常见的许多休闲近岸鱼类的汞 (Hg) 暴露进行检查。特定基因转录本，例如金属硫蛋白 (MET) 和硫氧还蛋白还原酶 (TrxR)，可用于检查水生生物的汞暴露反应。本研究测量了两组夏威夷近岸鱼类中四种鱼类的总汞 (THg)：巨型鲹鱼 ( Caranx ignobilis，n  = 13)、蓝鳍鲹鱼 ( C. melampygus，n  = 4)、尖颌北梭鱼 ( Albula virgata，n)  = 2) 和圆颌北梭鱼 ( A. glosedonta , n  = 19)。评估了肌肉、肝脏和肾脏组织的总汞积累以及 MET 和 TrxR 的丰度分布。圆颌北梭鱼和巨鲹组织中的总汞随着长度和计算年龄的增加而累积。在圆颌北梭鱼组织中，肾脏（1156 ng/g wm）的平均 THg 高于肝脏（339 ng/g wm）和肌肉（330 ng/g wm）。鲹鱼肌肉 (187 ng/g wm) 和肝脏 (277 ng/g wm) 平均 THg 没有显着差异。本研究中的鱼类与商业和当地鱼类进行了比较，并根据美国食品和药物管理局 (FDA) 和环境保护局 (EPA) 制定的 THg 基准提供了州和联邦肌肉组织消耗建议。两种北梭鱼的平均肌肉 THg 均超过基准，表明应考虑食用建议。圆颌北梭鱼肾组织中的MET转录本与肾脏THg呈轻微显着正相关，而肝脏组织中的TrxR转录本与肝脏THg的增加呈负相关。这些结果有助于我们了解汞暴露对鱼类健康的影响。