Preliminary investigation of multi-biomarker responses in three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) sampled in contaminated streams

Abstract

Recently, the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) has been proposed as a suitable fish species for detecting both androgen- and estrogen-induced endocrine disruption by environmental pollutants. This relatively pollution-tolerant fish is present in most European streams and small rivers but also coastal and estuarian areas. The purpose of the present field study was to determine the extent to which multiple biomarkers in this fish species could distinguish between streams with different pollution levels. Sticklebacks were sampled in French rivers characterised by various urban, industrial or agricultural contaminations and in outdoor lotic mesocosms as reference site. Physiological parameters including condition factor and liver somatic index, biotransformation enzymes such as 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) and glutathione-S-transferase, antioxidant enzymes including glutathione peroxidase and total glutathione (GSH) content and lipoperoxidation (as TBARS) showed several differences between sites. For example, fish from an heavily contaminated stream exhibited a 9-fold EROD induction associated to a decrease of GSH and a 3-fold increase of TBARS content in comparison to fish from uncontaminated sites. When fish were transferred from polluted river to clean water, some of these biomarkers rapidly returned to basal levels found in fish in the reference site while others, like TBARS levels were still high after 2 weeks of depuration. Based on multivariate analyses, the battery of biomarkers proved to differentiate all sites, with a very good classification rate for highly contaminated streams. Influence of fish gender and sampling period on biomarker responses was also observed and is discussed. The results of this field study provide additional support for the use of stickleback for in situ multi-biomarker assessment.

Biomarker responses in wild three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) as a useful tool for freshwater biomonitoring: A multiparametric approach

“…Moreover, some biomarkers exhibited a seasonal variability as reported for GST that showed higher levels in Autumn than in Spring (Sanchez et al, 2007). AChE activity has been extensively studied in stickleback (Sturm et al, 1999;Wogram et al, 2001) and, as reported for other fish species, this enzymatic activity is significantly associated with fish length and weight (Sturm et al, 1999).…”

“…Total protein concentrations were determined using the method of Bradford (1976) with bovine serum albumin (SigmaAldrich Chemicals, France) as a standard. Hepatic biomarker assays including EROD, GST, GPx, GSH and TBARS were conducted, respectively, according to the methods of Flammarion et al (1998a), Habig et al (1974), Paglia andValentine (1967), Vandeputte et al (1994) and Ohkawa et al (1979) adapted in microplate and optimised for stickleback as previously described (Sanchez et al, 2007).…”

“…Conversely to a previous investigation that used uncontaminated outdoor lotic mesocosms as reference (Sanchez et al, 2007), in the present work, we attempted to define a natural site as a true reference. An a priori approach pointed out three sites (LEZ, VDV and VDF) as candidate of reference status.…”

“…More recently, we have demonstrated the potential of using the stickleback as a sentinel fish species to assess sublethal stress in multipollution context using a set of biochemical biomarkers (Sanchez et al, 2007).…”

A potential biomarker of androgen exposure in European bullhead (Cottus sp.) kidney

“…However, this fish species, described as a relevant sentinel species for freshwater biomonitoring (Sanchez et al 2008b), is not widely distributed in European streams particularly in large rivers due to the lack of specific habitats (Sanchez et al 2007). …”