Comparative assessment of cardiac activity and DNA damage in haemocytes of the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis in exposure to tributyltin chloride.

This study gives an insight in sensitivity of heart rate (Hr) of Mytilus galloprovincialis as a physiological biomarker. Impact of tributyltin chloride (TBT-Cl) on Hr was studied in parallel with evaluation of mutagenic, genotoxic and cytotoxic potential of TBT-Cl (10, 100 and 1000µg/L) within 96h treatment in static conditions. Mutagenic potential was assessed by SOS/umuC assay while genotoxicity was assessed in haemocytes of M. galloprovincialis by using the comet assay and the micronucleus test. Benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)P) was used as a positive control. Hr variations detected in TBT-Cl treatments can be linked to data obtained in the genotoxicological assays indicating that Hr can be considered and used as a reliable physiological biomarker for detecting the presence of organotin compounds. However despite the observed genotoxic potential of B(a)P, a noteworthy Hr response was not observed which further questions the potential of Hr in the detection of different types of pollutants.

Genotoxicity assessment of the Danube River using tissues of freshwater bream (Abramis brama).

This study examines the use of freshwater bream (Abramis brama) as a sentinel organism for genotoxicity assessment of the Danube River using the comet assay. Sampling of bream was performed during February, April, August, and November in 2014 to assess seasonal variation of DNA damage level as a response to genotoxicity in annual cycle. Additionally, concentrations of fecal coliforms and enterococci were analyzed and they indicated a critical to strong level of fecal pollution on investigated locality during annual cycle. Comet assay was performed on blood, liver, and gill cells of bream. DNA damage level was expressed using tail intensity (TI %), Olive tail moment (OTM), and tail length (TL pix). According to TI and OTM, all three tissues had the highest level of DNA damage in August. The lowest level of DNA damage in liver was measured during February, in blood during November, and in gills during April. According to TL, gills had the highest level of DNA damage in February, and liver cells had the lowest level of damage during April. Multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) showed that DNA damage in blood cells is under the strong influence of variations in NO2, NO3-, NH4+ levels and also the variation in temperature and oxygen levels. DNA damage in liver cells is highly associated with the variations of Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, and PO43- levels. DNA damage in gill cells is strongly affected by the variations of As, Cd, Pb, Cr, and COD (Mn) levels. Freshwater bream is shown to be a potentially good indicator organism in genotoxic potential field studies.

Assessment of status of three water bodies in Serbia based on tissue metal and metalloid concentration (ICP-OES) and genotoxicity (comet assay).

Metals and metalloids are natural components of the biosphere, which are not produced per se by human beings, but whose form and distribution can be affected by human activities. Like all substances, they are a contaminant if present in excess compared to background levels and/or in a form that would not normally occur in the environment. Samples of liver, gills, gonads and muscle from European chub, Squalius cephalus, were analyzed for Al, As, B, Ba, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Mo, Sr and Zn using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) to highlight the importance of tissue selection in monitoring research. The comet assay or single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) was selected as an in vivo genotoxicity assay, a rapid and sensitive method for measuring genotoxic effects in blood, liver and gills of the European chub. Microscopic images of comets were scored using Comet IV Computer Software (Perceptive Instruments, UK). The objective of our study was to investigate two reservoirs, Zlatar and Garasi, and one river, Pestan by: (i) determining and comparing metal and metalloid concentrations in sediment, water and tissues of European chub: liver, gills, muscle and gonads (ii) comparing these findings with genotoxicity of water expressed through DNA damage of fish tissues. A clear link between the level of metals in water, sediment and tissues and between metal and genotoxicity levels at examined sites was not found. This suggests that other xenobiotics (possibly the organic compounds), contribute to DNA damage.

Assessment of the genotoxic potential along the Danube River by application of the comet assay on haemocytes of freshwater mussels: The Joint Danube Survey 3.

In this study we assessed the level of genotoxic pollution along the Danube River by measuring the level of DNA damage in the haemocytes of freshwater mussels of Unio sp. (Unio pictorum/Unio tumidus) and Sinanodonta woodiana. The comet assay was used for the assessment of DNA damage. The research was performed on 34 out of 68 sites analysed within the Joint Danube Survey 3 - the world's biggest river research expedition of its kind in 2013. During research, 2285 river kilometres were covered with an average distance of 68 km between the sites. The complex data set on concentrations of various substances present in water, suspended particulate matter and sediment on investigated sites gave the opportunity to identify the groups of xenobiotics which mostly affect the studied biomarker - DNA damage. The highest levels of DNA damage were recorded in the section VI (Panonnian Plain), which is under the impact of untreated wastewater discharges. Both positive and negative influences of the large tributaries on the level of genotoxicity in the Danube River were evident. Significant correlation in response was detected between the studied species of freshwater mussels. The level of DNA damage in mussels correlated with concentrations of compounds from the group of hazardous priority substances (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), persistent organic pollutants (dioxins) and emerging pollutants (Oxazepam, Chloridazon-desphenyl).