The environment is continuously loaded with thousands of pollutants originating from diverse anthropogenic sources. Risk assessment of these pollutants to organisms and ecosystems is challenging because of the diversities in sensitivities of the organisms to pollutants. Diverse patterns of deposition and transfer of the pollutants through food chain also complicate the assessment. Low, relatively innocuous concentration of pollutants often produces deleterious effects on organisms only after prolonged exposure.

In this special issue, we would like to highlight researches on applications of biomarkers that easily reflect adverse biological responses of the anthropogenic environmental pollutants and can effectively serve as early warning signals to ensure protection of the organisms and integrity of the ecosystem. Reviews that summarize uses of biomarkers to understand mechanisms of toxicity are also welcome. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Biomarkers of exposures
• Biomarkers of physiological and oxidative stress
• Molecular and cellular biomarkers
• Toxicogenomic, proteomic, and metabolomic biomarkers
• Metallothioneins
• Evaluation of disease risk and safety signals

Before submission, authors should carefully read over the journal’s Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/submit/journals/bmri/toxicology/bep/ according to the following timetable: