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

Abstract

Biological markers (biomarkers) sensitive to genotoxic and mutagenic contamination in fishes are widely used to identify exposure effects in aquatic environments. The micronucleus assay was incorporated into a suite of indicators to assess exposure to genotoxic and mutagenic contamination at five Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs), as well as one non‐AOC (reference) site. The assay allowed enumeration of micronuclei as well as other nuclear abnormalities for both site and species comparisons. Erythrocyte abnormality data was also compared to skin and liver tumor prevalence and hepatic transcript abundance. Erythrocyte abnormalities were observed at all sites with variable occurrence and severity among sites and species. Benthic‐oriented brown bullhead (Ameiurus nebulosus) and white sucker (Catostomus commersonii) expressed lower rates of erythrocyte abnormalities, but higher rates of skin and liver neoplasms, when compared to pelagic‐oriented largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) or smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) at the same site. The reduced erythrocyte abnormalities, increased transcript abundance associated with Phase I and II toxicant responsive pathways, and increased neoplastic lesions among benthic‐oriented taxa may indicate the development of contaminant resistance of these species to more acute effects. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 58:570–581, 2017. © 2017 This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Environmental Mutagen Society

Effect of Methanolic Extract of Justicia Flava on Petroleum-Induced Reduced Cell Division and DNA Damage

“…Data were reported as mean ± SD and were analyzed with analysis of variance (ANOVA). Significant differences between all treatment means were set at p < 0.05 confidence limit using Duncan's Multiple Range Test [19].…”

“…Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are highly reactive substances that cause oxidative damage to DNA and induced micronuleated erythrocytes [16,17,18,19]. The genotoxicity of petroleum in humans have been evaluated [20].…”

Use of liver histological alterations and erythrocytic nuclear abnormalities of two native fish in Kelani River, Sri Lanka as biomarkers for pollution impact assessments

“…Induction of erythrocytic micronuclei and nuclear abnormalities in various fish species have been linked to the exposure of chemicals such as heavy metals, pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorinated biphenyls (Braham et al, 2017). Micronuclei can be formed as a result of chromosomal breaks or mitotic spindle dysfunctions (Al-Sabti & Metcalfe, 1995).…”

“…Genotoxicity studies are important in assessing the genetic integrity of fish exposed to various toxicants in their habitat (van der Oost et al, 2003;Matos et al, 2017;Sousa et al, 2017). Erythrocyte nuclear abnormalities in fish indicate cytogenetic damage associated with the genotoxic effects of aquatic pollutants (Al-Sabti & Metcalfe, 1995;van der Oost et al, 2003;Braham et al, 2017). Genotoxic potential of a range of industrial effluents that are discharged into the Kelani River has been revealed recently based on laboratory exposure studies with a model fish, Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (Hemachandra & Pathiratne, 2016;.…”

Health indicators and contaminant levels of a critically endangered species in the Gironde estuary, the European sturgeon

“…Comet and micronucleus assays are suitable indicators of genotoxicity (e.g. Braham et al 2017;Hariri et al 2018). To assess the impact of endocrinedisrupting contaminants, vitellogenin concentration or steroid hormones levels are successfully measured from blood plasma (e.g.…”