Genetic stock assessment of spawning arctic cisco (Coregonus autumnalis) populations by flow cytometric determination of DNA content

The slider turtle as an environmental sentinel: multiple tissue assays using flow cytometric analysis

We used flow cytometry (FCM) to conduct a multiple-tissue assay on slider turtles (Trachemys scripta) inhabiting radioactive seepage basins. Duplicate samples of blood, heart, spleen and kidney were analysed on two different cytometers (Leitz MPV and Coulter Profile II), each employing distinct staining protocols (DAPI and PI, respectively). Both DAPI and PI assays of spleen cells demonstrated significantly greater variation in DNA content for the basin turtles than for 'control' animals from nearby, uncontaminated sites. Basin turtles also exhibited significant cell-cycle effects for blood and spleen, again revealed by both assays. These corroborative findings demonstrate the consistency and repeatability of FCM assays in environmental monitoring and identify the particularly sensitive nature of turtle blood and spleen to mutagenic agents. Our survey complements previous FCM studies on sliders from contaminated sites and thereby underscores the species' potential as a sentinel for biomarker assays.

Patterns of genome size evolution in tetraodontiform fishes

We used flow cytometry to measure genome size in 15 species from seven families and subfamilies of tetraodontiform fishes. Previous studies have found that smooth pufferfishes (Tetraodontidae) have the smallest genome of any vertebrate measured to date (0.7-1.0 picograms diploid). We found that spiny pufferfishes (Diodontidae, sister group to the smooth puffers) possess a genome that is about two times larger (1.6-1.8 pg). Mola mola, a member of the sister group to Diodontidae and Tetraodontidae, also has a relatively large genome (1.7 pg). Parsimony analysis of this pattern indicates that the plesiomorphic condition for Molidae (Diodontidae, Tetraodontidae) is a genome size of 1.6-1.8 pg, and that tiny genome size is a derived character unique to smooth puffers. However, an alternative explanation is that the ancestor of Tetraodontidae acquired a heritable tendency toward decreasing genome size, such as a new or modified deletion mechanism, and genome size in all of the tetraodontid lineages has been decreasing in parallel since the split from Diodontidae. Small genome size (1.1-1.3 pg) also appears to have evolved independently in some members of Balistoidea (triggerfishes and filefishes) within Tetraodontiformes.

Measurement by flow cytometry of genomic AT/GC ratio and genome size

Flow cytometry with the AT-specific fluorochrome Hoechst 33258 (HO) and the GC-specific fluorochrome olivomycin (OM) was used for measurement of base pair specific DNA content in 20 species of vertebrates. The results were found to be in good correlation with the biochemical literature on base pair frequencies (r = 0.972, P < 1 x 10(-8). This correlation allows one to determine the percent of GC/AT-pairs and genome size from flow cytometric data. The genome sizes obtained were compared with the literature data on flow cytometric genome size values determined with the use of propidium iodide (PI) that is usually believed to be non-base pair specific. The results were found to be in general agreement; however, the previously reported slight GC-preference of PI is confirmed. The optimal conditions for flow cytometry of AT/GC ratio and genome size with the use of OM and HO are discussed. The approach can be useful for research in ecology, fisheries science, species conservation, and other environmental studies as a tool for rapid survey of a vast array of specimens.

Further flow cytometric studies of the effects of triethylenemelamine on somatic and testicular tissues of the rat

Exposure to the mutagen triethylenemelamine on rat bone marrow, blood, and testis was studied using flow cytometry of DAPI-stained nuclei. Increased coefficients of variation (CVs) of the G1 peaks were observed in bone marrow and blood after both 1 d and 5 d exposures. After 5 d exposure and 7 d recovery both tissues had recovered, in some cases to significantly lower CVs. Increased CVs of the 1C peak of testis were observed only after 5 d exposure to the high dose with no subsequently observed recovery. Bone marrow cells also were stained with Hoechst 33258 and Propidium Iodide. No differences among dyes were observed indicating that increased CVs likely are due to DNA damage resulting from interactions with the mutagen rather than differences in how the dyes bind to DNA relative to mutagen binding. This study demonstrates that differences occur among tissues in how quickly they respond and recover from mutagen exposure. Increased CVs, cell cycle alterations, and decreased CVs after recovery are all potentially useful biomarkers of effect for laboratory and field studies in environmental toxicology.

Flow-cytometric analysis of the effects of triethylenemelamine on somatic and testicular tissues of the rat

The effects of short-term (24 h) exposure to triethylenemelamine on cellular DNA in five tissues (bone marrow, spleen, kidney, large intestine, and testis) of the rat were studied using flow cytometry. Mean coefficients of variation of the G1 peaks were increased in both the low and high dosage groups relative to controls. Bone marrow exhibited the highest degree of effect, possibly due to the rapid rate of cell division in that tissue, and spleen was next highest. Thus, hematopoietic tissues are highly responsive to short-term, acute exposure to this mutagen. The results of the flow-cytometry assay closely paralleled a simultaneous chromosomal assay conducted on bone marrow of the same rats. These data are interpreted to be consistent with the hypothesis that the observed increase in mean coefficients of variation is due to the clastogenic effects of the mutagen and subsequent unequal distribution of DNA among the daughters of affected cells.