Genotoxicity in Atlantic killifish (Fundulus heteroclitus) from a PAH-contaminated Superfund site on the Elizabeth River, Virginia

Abstract

The Atlantic Wood Industries Superfund site (AWI) on the Elizabeth River in Portsmouth, VA is heavily contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from a wood treatment facility. Atlantic killifish, or mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus), at this Superfund site are exposed to very high concentrations of several carcinogens. In this study, we measured PAH concentrations in both fish tissues and sediments. Concurrently, we assessed different aspects of genotoxicity in the killifish exposed in situ. Both sediment and tissue PAH levels were significantly higher in AWI samples, relative to a reference site, but the chemistry profile was different between sediments and tissues. Killifish at AWI exhibited higher levels of DNA damage compared to reference fish, as measured via the flow cytometric method (FCM), and the damage was consistent with sediment PAH concentrations. Covalent binding of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) metabolites to DNA, as measured via LC-MS/MS adduct detection methods, were also elevated and could be partially responsible for the DNA damage. Using similar LC-MS/MS methods, we found no evidence that oxidative DNA adducts had a role in observed genotoxicity.

Effects of Anthropogenic Pollution on the Oxidative Phosphorylation Pathway of Hepatocytes from Natural Populations of Fundulus heteroclitus

“…(Incardona et al, 2012), biomarkers of xenobiotic exposure such as CYP1A inducibility and DNA damage (Jewett et al, 2002;Jung et al, 2011;Raphael et al, 2014), xenobiotic metabolism in vivo (e. g., the aryl hydrocarbon receptor pathway (Bello et al, 2001;Denison and Nagy 2003;Hahn et al, 2004)), altered gene expression (Leaver et al, 2010) (Fisher and Oleksiak 2007;Bozinovic et al 2011;Oleksiak et al 2011;Garcia et al 2012;Bozinovic et al 2013), and genotypic effects Oleksiak, 2008, 2011a,b). Those studies investigated pollution's influences on natural populations at molecular, biological, and ecological levels and helped to elucidate evolved tolerance in polluted populations.…”

“…Both polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are POPs of major concern. PAHs, which are released into the environment primarily through incomplete organic matter combustion (Walker et al, 2005), are organic carbon compounds composed of fused aromatic ring structures (Jung et al, 2011). They are a toxicologically important class of pollutants because some compounds have been identified as carcinogenic or mutagenic (Srogi, 2007), and their environmental significance has been increasing partially due to the elevated rate of fossil fuel consumption (Van Metre et al, 2000).…”

“…In contrast, a nearby F. heteroclitus population from King's Creek, VA has been used as a genetically similar reference population. This reference population has much lower sediment PAH levels (<0.4% of Elizabeth River PAH concentrations) (Jung et al, 2011;Clark et al, 2013) and is sensitive to the toxicity of the polluted sediments from the Elizabeth River Superfund site (Meyer and Di Giulio 2002;Meyer and Di Giulio, 2003;Burnett et al, 2007;Whitehead et al, 2011). We tested the hypothesis that F. heteroclitus from a site chronically polluted with PAHs (Elizabeth River, VA) would have altered OxPhos metabolism as compared to F. heteroclitus from a nearby reference site (King's Creek, VA).…”

Hepatic Responses of Juvenile Fundulus heteroclitus from Pollution-adapted and Nonadapted Populations Exposed to Elizabeth River Sediment Extract

“…Previous research on killifish primarily involved adults of unknown age captured at specific sites (Cooper et al , 1999; Frederick et al , 2007; Jung et al , 2011; Pinkney and Harshbarger, 2006; Schmalz Jr. et al , 2002; Stine et al , 2004; Vogelbein et al , 1999; Vogelbein et al , 1990; Vogelbein and Unger, 2006); and, after spawning captured adults, embryo progeny were analyzed (Clark et al , 2014; Meyer and Di Giulio, 2003; Ownby et al , 2002; Wills et al , 2010; Weis and Weis, 1989; Clark et al , 2013). In field-collected AW killifish, tumors were found in 33% of adults (Vogelbein et al , 1990) but could not be exclusively linked to PAH-exposure since the animals were taken directly from the Elizabeth River where they were likely exposed to a complex mixture of creosote and industrial wastes.…”

Incorporating ToxCast and Tox21 datasets to rank biological activity of chemicals at Superfund sites in North Carolina

“…The cleanup of these hazardous waste sites has had numerous public health and economical benefits on the surrounding communities (Arndt et al, 1999; EPA, 2011; Gamper-rabindran et al, 2011; Henry et al, 2015). However, many Superfund sites remain as hazardous waste sites that pose significant threats to human health through contaminant exposure via soil, surface water, or ground water (Carlin et al, 2015; Jung et al, 2011; Messier et al, 2012; U.S. EPA, 2013).…”