DNA damage in cichlids from an oil production facility in Guatemala

Abstract

This study focused on several wetlands in Laguna del Tigre National Park (Guatemala) as part of Conservation International's Rapid Assessment Program. Sediment and water samples were collected from a laguna near Xan field, Guatemala's largest oil facility, and three other sites for determination of levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Cichlid fish (Thorichthys meeki and Vieja synspila) were collected for determination of DNA strand breakage (by gel electrophoresis), chromosomal breakage (flow cytometry), and fin erosion. For T. meeki from Xan field, chromosomal breakage and strand breakage was greater than in at least two of the three reference sites. For V. synspila, chromosomal breakage and strand breakage were greater in Xan than one of the two reference sites. Fin erosion was observed only at the Xan laguna. Genetic biomarker effects and fin erosion, along with patterns of aqueous PAH concentrations, indicate that fish are affected by anthropogenic contaminants. PAHs were elevated at some reference sites, but environmental forensic analysis suggested a pyrogenic or diagenic origin. It is possible that oil field brines injected into the ground water caused fin erosion and genotoxicity in fish at Xan field, and it is also possible that pyrogenic PAHs influence levels of DNA damage in reference sites. These analyses represent one of the first efforts to examine genotoxicity in native Mesoamerican cichlids.

Study of genetic damage in the Japanese oyster induced by an environmentally-relevant exposure to diuron: Evidence of vertical transmission of DNA damage

“…The Comet assay was applied to detect early reversible primary DNA damage, while flow cytometry (FCM) was used to measure the prevalence of abnormal A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t 7 genomic profiles (variability in CV and genome size). In marine invertebrates, flow cytometry has been widely used to highlight genomic abnormalities (DNA breakage and DNA ploidy) (Barsiene et al, 2006;Goanvec et al, 2008;Jung et al, 2011;Theodorakis et al, 2012) and is recognised as a high precision technique (Bihari et al, 2003). Moreover, it has an advantage over other cytological assays because a larger number of cells can be analysed rather than in chromosome or micronucleus assay (Deaven, 1982;Bickham, 1990), allowing a rapid analysis of a large number of samples.…”

Integration of Genotoxic Biomarkers in Environmental Biomonitoring Analysis Using a Multi-Biomarker Approach in Three-Spined Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus Linnaeus, 1758)

“…The DNA content variation can be assessed by the adaptation of the protocol developed for peripheral blood cells of fish [ 39 ]. FCM has already demonstrated its relevance to detecting chromosomal damages in blood cells of fish exposed to various conditions [ 40 , 41 , 42 ].…”