Genotoxic Impact of ‘Erika’ Petroleum Fuel on Liver of the Fish Solea Solea

Abstract

On 12 December 1999, one third of the load of the tanker 'Erika' , amounting to about 10 000 t crude oil flowed into sea waters close to the French Atlantic Coast (Finistère region). The spilled oil was fuel No. 6, a heavy or residual fuel that is a complex mixture of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAC) of high molecular weight. Some polycyclic aromatic compounds are genotzoxic substances that induce carcinogenic lesions in laboratory animals. DNA adducts, reflecting genotoxic effects, are used as biomarker of early pollution. In this study, the genotoxic impact of the 'Erika' oil was assessed by studying the presence of DNA adduct in the liver of immature fishes (Solea solea) from four locations of the French Brittany coasts, two, six and nine months after the disaster. Two months after the spill, a high amount of DNA adducts was found in samples from all locations (92 to 290 DNA adduct/10 9 nucleotides). DNA adducts were more persistent in the North than in the South of the affected French Brittany coasts. In September, no significant difference was observed between the locations. When incubated in presence of an 'Erika' fuel extract, DNA adduct patterns similar to those obtained from the liver of Solea solea liver are observed both, in cell culture (HePG2) and, in presence of fish liver microsomes.