Biomarker responses in flounder Platichthys flesus from the Polish coastal area of the Baltic Sea and applications in biomonitoring

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the pattern of enzymatic activities, environmental genotoxicity and cytotoxicity in flounder, Platichthys flesus, from the Polish coastal area of the Baltic Sea. Fish were sampled in different contaminated sites in the Gulf of Gdansk and in a reference area outside the gulf. The activities of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), glutathione S: -transferase (GST), catalase (CAT), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), were studied, as well as the frequency of micronuclei, nuclear buds and fragmented-apoptotic cells. A higher mean activity level of muscular AChE and a lower activity level of hepatic GST were evident in samples taken from the reference site, relative to those found in the gulf. Modeled CAT activity (in both liver and gill tissue), blood plasma LDH and CK activities were all significantly higher in flounder collected at locations within the Gulf of Gdansk than at the reference site. No statistically significant alterations were observed in the activities of ALT and AST in the blood plasma of flounder in this study. Fish collected from a location at the mouth of the Vistula River showed the highest hepatic GST and CAT, the highest gill CAT activity, and the highest frequency of blood micronuclei, nuclear buds and fragmented-apoptotic cell inductions, as well as the lowest level of blood plasma CK. The present study confirms that compared to fish from the reference area, flounder from the Gulf of Gdansk clearly demonstrate a different enzyme activity, genotoxicity and cytotoxicity biomarker response pattern.

An integrated assessment of pollution and biological effects in flounder, mussels and sediment in the southern Baltic Sea coastal area

“…An examination of changes at a tissue level, i.e., histopathology/gametogenesis, could have allowed for a more holistic assessment of the mussels health, yet it was not feasible. AChE activity in flounder was not investigated in the present study, yet the inhibition of its activity in mussels in GoG is in line with earlier studies on flounder and eelpout (Zoarces viviparous) (Napierska and Podolska 2006;Napierska et al 2009). …”

“…Chemical contaminants and biomarker responses in various biota in the southern Baltic Sea have been researched in the past (Napierska and Podolska 2006;Napierska et al 2009), yet this study is the first to investigate the pollution and biological effects using three environmental matrices to provide an integrated assessment of environmental quality in this area. The present study aimed at the assessment of (i) priority hazardous substances in flounder (Platichthys flesus), mussels (Mytilus trossulus), and sediment in the context of available environmental target levels, (ii) contaminant-related biological effects through measurements of biomarkers in flounder and mussels in parallel with chemical contaminants, and (iii) sediment toxicity based on sediment bioassays.…”

Multi-biomarker responses as indication of contaminant effects in Gambusia affinis from impacted rivers by municipal effluents

“…Previous studies reported variable HSI results, i.e. increase (Corsi et al, 2003;de la Torre et al, 2007), no change (Barhoumi et al, 2014), and decrease (Napierska et al, 2009) in fish from contaminated sites. Increased HSI values in mosquitofish in the present study may be the result of either hypertrophy (increase in cell size) or hyperplasia (increase in cell number) (van der Oost et al, 2003).…”

Biochemical and physiological modifications in tissues of Sardina pilchardus: spatial and temporal patterns as a baseline for biomonitoring studies

“…In addition to pollution, several other factors may bias biological responses that are used as biomarkers. Among these, health condition, sex, age, nutritional status/food availability, reproductive phase, metabolic activity, population density, migratory behavior, and environmental factors (e.g., season, and temperature) can alter the physiology of test organisms, thus compromising the effectiveness of biomarker use in environmental analysis, namely for the detection of contamination (van der Oost et al, 2003;Napierska et al, 2009). Additionally, all the mentioned factors can even alter the bioaccumulation profiles and the levels of pollutants in tissues of exposed organisms (Stanic et al, 2006;Vidal-Liñán et al, 2010).…”