Assessment of heavy metals and its impact on DNA fragmentation in different fish species

Abstract

This study was conducted to assess water pollution by examining DNA fragmentation in selected fish organs (kidney, liver, gills, and muscle tissue) from Wallago attu, Sperata sarwari, Vulgaris vulgaris, and Labeo rohita collected from a known polluted section of the Chenab River, Pakistan, and from a control site. The fish were caught using a gill net and were assigned to three different weight groups (W1, W2, and W3) to study the degree of variation in DNA fragmentation in relation to body weight. In fish from the polluted site, DNA fragmentation was higher in kidney, liver, gills, and muscles, compared to the control. No significant DNA fragmentation was observed in fish collected from the control site. Highly significant (P < 0.01) relationship between body weight and DNA fragmentation was found in the organs of fish procured at the contaminated site. DNA fragmentation in body organs was found to be affected by the concentrations of lead, copper, nickel, and cadmium in W. attu, S. sarwari, L. rohita, and V. vulgarus harvested from Chenab River. DNA fragmentation in different freshwater fish species is therefore a reliable biomarker of water pollution.

Aquatic assessment of the chelating ability of Silica-stabilized magnetite nanocomposite to lead nitrate toxicity with emphasis to their impact on hepatorenal, oxidative stress, genotoxicity, histopathological, and bioaccumulation parameters in Oreochromis niloticus and Clarias gariepinus

“…These findings align with Sultana et al [ 111 ], who established a link between DNA fragmentation and heavy metal levels in various fish tissues. Moreover, Mohamed et al [ 112 ] noted that tilapia exposed to higher heavy metal levels in severely polluted areas showed a higher frequency of DNA fragmentation in the gills, liver, and muscles, potentially indicating a lack of effective DNA repair systems.…”

Studies on bioaccumulation patterns, biochemical and genotoxic effects of copper on freshwater fish, Catla catla: an in vivo analysis

“…The polyanionic nature of DNA makes it susceptible to the adherence of metal cations and the production of hydroxyl radicals that attack invariably on the nucleobases and sugar-phosphate backbone of DNA (Manoj and Padhy, 2013). The toxic properties of transition metals is due to their higher potential to act as catalysts in the production of ROS through Haber-Weiss/ Fenton reactions, resulting in potentially damaging DNA modifications (Aboul-Ela et al, 2011;Sultana et al, 2020). Fedeli et al (2010) reported increased comet parameters (tail moment, tail intensity) in the RBC's of Onchorhyncus mykiss exposed to 50 µM Cu.…”

Genotoxicity assessment in two Amazonian estuaries using the Plagioscion squamosissimus as a biomonitor

“…In high concentrations, aluminum may provoke neurological disorders in human beings, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases (SILVA JÚNIOR 2013). In fish, the aluminum dissolved in acidic water, which comes into contact with the gills, provokes an increase in the pH and the formation of insoluble Al 2 (OH) 3 , which damages the DNA (Muniz and Oliveira-Filho 2006;Sultana et al 2020) and eventually suffocates the animal. This has raised a number of concerns in the population of Barcarena in terms of the quality of the fish available for human consumption in the region.…”