When an oil spill occurs in water, exposure can cause disorders for animals, including central nervous depression, respiratory distress, anemia, hepatic necrosis and hypothermia. Current methods available to detect exposure in vertebrates tend to be expensive, labor-intensive and invasive to the animal. UC Davis researchers have found a new, high-tech way to detect petroleum exposure, however, that can be done more quickly, cheaply and with a very small volume of blood. Researchers Michael Ziccardi and Michael Denison are using cells genetically altered to detect pollutants. With the help of genes from fireflies -- using firefly luciferase -- the researchers can use the effect of luminescence to detect petroleum products in the blood of aquatic animals potentially contaminated in an oil spill. The work was presented recently at the Effects of Oil on Wildlife Conference held in Monterey.