Evaluation of river water genotoxicity using the piscine micronucleus test

Abstract

The Berdan River, which empties into the Mediterranean Sea on the east coast of Turkey, receives discharges of industrial and municipal waste. In the present study, the in vivo piscine micronucleus (MN) test was used to evaluate the genotoxicity of water samples collected from different locations along the Berdan River. Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) were exposed in the laboratory for 2, 4, and 6 days, and micronuclei were evaluated in peripheral blood erythrocytes, gill cells, and caudal fin epithelial cells. A single dose of 5 mg/L cyclophosphamide was used as a positive control. In addition to micronuclei, nuclear abnormalities (NAs), such as binucleated cells and blebbed, notched, and lobed nuclei, were assessed in the erythrocytes, and chemical analyses were carried out to determine the amount of heavy metals in the water samples. MN and NA frequencies were significantly elevated (up to 2- to 3-fold) in fish exposed to river water samples taken downstream of potential discharges, and the elevated responses in gill and fin cells were related to the concentration of heavy metals in the water. MN frequencies (expressed as micronucleated cells/1,000 cells), in both treated and untreated fish, were greatest in gill cells (range: 0.80-3.70), and generally lower in erythrocytes (range: 0.50-2.80), and fin cells (range: 0.45-1.70). The results of this study indicate that the Berdan River is contaminated with genotoxic pollutants and that the genotoxicity is related to the discharge of wastes into the river water.

Assessment of the genotoxic impact of pesticides on farming communities in the countryside of Santa Catarina State, Brazil

“…Induction of micronuclei was previously reported for fish collected in dams or rivers (Udroiu, 2006) and in situ quantification of micronuclei in piscine erythrocytes has been demonstrated to be an adequate biomarker in the evaluation of aquatic ecosystems quality (Ayllón and Garcia-Vazquez, 2000; Çavas and Ergene-Gözükara, 2003; Ergene et al , 2007). …”

In Vivo Cytogenotoxicity and Oxidative Stress Induced by Electronic Waste Leachate and Contaminated Well Water

“…The available information is on contaminated rivers. For instance, studies have shown that Berdan river, Turkey receiving discharges from industrial and municipal wastes induced increased MN in the peripheral erythrocytes, gill cells and caudal fin epithelial of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in a 2, 4 and 6 days exposure study [46]. In an in situ biomonitoring of polluted marine environment of the southern Mediterranean coast of Turkey, an increase in the frequency of MN induction in the peripheral erythrocytes and gill cells of grey mullet (Mugilcephalus) indicated that clastogenic and aneugenic substances from industrial effluents were discharged into the sea [17].…”

Genotoxic effects of water pollution on two fish species living in Karasu River, Erzurum, Turkey

“…The fish micronucleus test is widely employed to assess the biological impact of water pollution (Sánchez-Galán et al 1998;Ergene et al 2007a). Micronuclei (MN) arise from chromosomal fragments or whole chromosomes that are not incorporated into daughter nuclei at mitosis (Schmid 1975).…”