Fresh water fish, Channa punctatus, as a model for pendimethalin genotoxicity testing: A new approach toward aquatic environmental contaminants

Abstract

Pendimethalin (PND) is one of the common herbicides used worldwide. Fresh water fish, Channa punctatus, was exposed to PND in aquaria wherein its LC50 value was recorded to be 3.6 mg/L. Three sublethal (SL) concentrations, namely, 0.9, 1.8, and 2.7 mg/L were selected for the evaluation of genotoxicity and oxidative stress generated in the fish. In vivo comet assay was carried out in the blood, liver, and gill cells after exposing the fish to aforesaid SL concentrations of PND for 24, 48, 72, and 96 h. The results of the comet assay demonstrated the genotoxicity of PND in all the three tissues. Induction of oxidative stress in the gill cells was affirmed by the increased lipid peroxidation (LPO) and decreased levels of reduced glutathione, superoxide dismutase, and catalase. Frequencies of erythrocytic nuclear abnormalities (ENA) and micronuclei (MN) were also used to assess the genotoxic potential of PND on C. punctatus. MN frequency did not show any enhancement after PND exposure, but the frequency of ENA such as kidney-shaped nuclei, segmented nuclei and lobed nuclei, showed a significant increase after 24-96 h. Thus, ENA seems to be a better biomarker than MN for PND induced genotoxicity. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 31: 1520-1529, 2016.

Micronuclei and other erythrocyte nuclear abnormalities in fishes from the Great Lakes Basin, USA

“…This suggests exposure to a different suite of contaminants may be occurring at these sites as previous studies have shown certain chemicals may induce NA but not MN. For instance, experimental exposures to the herbicide pendimethalin [Ahmad and Ahmad, ], cyclophosphamide and cadmium [Ayllon and Garcia‐Vazquez, ] and cadmium or copper [Güner and Muranh, ] resulted in increased NA but not MN. Further chemical analyses are needed to identify the contaminants contributing to the observed results.…”

Studies on the alterations in haematological indices, micronuclei induction and pathological marker enzyme activities in Channa punctatus (spotted snakehead) perciformes, channidae exposed to thermal power plant effluent

“…Heavy metals are persistent and accumulative in nature therefore could pose detrimental effects to the inhabiting flora and fauna. Fishes are widely employed as biomonitoring organisms in toxicological studies as they can highlight the potential dangers of toxicants introduced in the aquatic environment (Crafford and Avenant-Oldewage 2010 ; Javed and Usmani 2011 , 2013a , b , c ; Javed 2013 ; Ahmad and Ahmad 2015 ; Javed et al 2016 ). Uptake of heavy metals occurs through the fish gills from water and gut via food then they pass to the blood stream and finally settled to different organs (Javed and Usmani 2012 ).…”

Continuous Agrochemical Treatments in Agroecosystems Can Modify the Effects of Pendimethalin-Based Herbicide Exposure on Immunocompetence of a Beneficial Ground Beetle

“…Thus far, there have been few data on the toxicity of dinitroaniline and, especially, pendimethalin. Earlier studies have reported on the latter's genotoxicity and cytotoxicity effects, as related to its capability to bind DNA [72], in the non-target freshwater fish Channa punctatus [14,15]. Moreover, an increase of the incidence in chromosomal aberration and micronuclei has been recorded at the cellular level in Chinese hamster ovaries [73], lung fibroblast cells [74], and mouse bone marrow [75].…”

“…Because of its low affinity for animal tubulins, the effects of pendimethalin have mainly been investigated in soil microbiota [12]. Very few studies have addressed potential toxicity following the application of sublethal doses of pendimethalin on a low number of aquatic organisms [11,14,15], as well as on non-target soil invertebrates, including insects [16,17]. This raises the question of whether exposure to pendimethalin may be harmful and can cause potential direct (feeding on contaminated prey or absorption by contact) and indirect (depletion of food) effects on non-target species.…”