DNA damage in dab (Limanda limanda) and haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) from European seas

Abstract

Dab (Limanda limanda) and haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) were collected from coastal and offshore locations in the Baltic (dab only), North Sea (haddock from one location only) and Iceland. Blood was analysed for DNA strand breaks using the comet assay and liver samples for DNA adduct concentrations. DNA strand breaks were at background levels in dab from the two Iceland locations and from the Dogger Bank. The highest levels were observed in dab from the Firth of Forth, Ekofisk and the German Bight. Hepatic DNA adducts in dab were highest at Ekofisk, in the Baltic and Dogger Bank, below detection limit in dab from Iceland and low in dab from the Firth of Forth and German Bight. There was large variation in DNA strand breaks between locations and individuals for haddock, particularly from Iceland. Adduct concentrations were elevated in haddock from both Iceland and the Firth of Forth. A general linear model (GLM) suggested that, in addition to location, the size of dab and its general condition contributed to explaining the observed variability in DNA strand breaks. A GLM for adducts in dab similarly allocated most of the variability to location, but with a possible contribution from CYP1A activity. There were no apparent differences between male and female dab for any of the methods. There was no obvious relationship between strand breaks and adducts in the same fish although dab from Ekofisk and Iceland had respectively high and low responses using both methods. The results from this large-scale study showed pollution-related genotoxicity for dab, that fish blood samples can be conserved prior to comet analyses and that there are clear species differences in genotoxic responses even when collected at the same location.

The comet assay in animal models: From bugs to whales – (Part 2 Vertebrates)

“…The method was adopted for more than 90 different species [53] and as it requires relatively small cell samples, it could be suitable for all 30.000 different fish species, at least theoretically. Until now the method was developed for fish of only a few centimetres in size [77] up to more than two meters [78], including fish that live in various environments; from arctic [79] to tropical waters [80], seas [81] to fresh waters [82], bottom feeder fish [83] and open water fish [84]. Nevertheless, one group of fish, namely cartilaginous fish that include sharks, rays, skates, sawfish and chimaeras, are still completely overlooked and to the best of our knowledge, there are no studies describing the comet assay in Chondrichthyes.…”

“…Nevertheless, the multi-tissue approach in aquatic biomonitoring studies is rare but highly recommended. Recently Hylland et al [81] showed that the samples already embedded in agarose on gelbond films can be stored in lysis for several weeks which is a benefit in field studies. Additionally, the comet assay was modified also for whole fish embryos, usually zebrafish (Danio rerio) [88][89][90].…”

“…Environmental biomonitoring to assess the genotoxic potential of aquatic environments has been carried out with various fish species, mostly those that are economically and commercially important and have an important role in the food web (and so are ecologically important), such as; carps (Cypriniformes), percoidei (Perciformes), salmonidaes (Salmoniniformes), gadidaes (Gadiformes) etc. Nevertheless, some studies have shown large species differences in genotoxic responses in fish sampled at the same sites [81].…”

“…Nevertheless, there are ranges of species that are used, including those that are commercially important including species belonging to the Sparidae family such as gilt-head bream (Sparus aurata) [126,[187][188][189][190] or Moronidae family such as European bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) [84,[191][192][193][194][195]. There are several other marine species used such as corkwing wrasse (Symphodus mellops) [196], turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) [197,198], hornyhead turbot (Pleuronichthys verticalis) [199], flatfish dab (Limanda limanda) [81,200], common sole (Solea solea), [201,202], English sole (Pleuronectes vetulus) [199] [79], mullet (Mugil cephalus) [84], olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) [203,204], sheepshead minnow (Cyprinodon variegatus) [205], haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) [81], Florida pompano (Trachinotus carolinus) [206], yellow croaker (Pseudosciaena crocea) [207], marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma) [208], milkfish (Chanos chanos) [209], Mediterranean rainbow wrasse (Coris julis) [210,211], tiger perch (Terapon jarbua) [212,213], striped beak perch (Oplegnathus fasciatus) [214], orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides) [215], Mediterranean killifish (Aphanius fasciatus) [216], eelpout (Zoarces viviparus)…”

Applications of Adductomics in Chemically Induced Adverse Outcomes and Major Emphasis on DNA Adductomics: A Pathbreaking Tool in Biomedical Research

“…In the Mediterranean population, bulky DNA adducts are correlated with environment ozone pollution that contributes to photochemical smog [ 34 ]. Hylland et al [ 35 ] used DNA adducts as signature biomarker to examine the extent of pollution at various locations in the Northeast Atlantic region near to coastal and offshore. Adduct as a biomarker (DNA adduct) alerts risk exposure by providing early warning information and assisting in improving hazard assessment for aquatic organisms and ecological risk assessment [ 36 ].…”