Biomarker responses and genotoxicity in the mud snail (Bullacta exarata) as indicators of coastal contamination

Physiological impacts of pollution exposure in seabird's progeny nesting in a Mediterranean contaminated area

Aquatic wildlife is exposed through trophic transfer of hazardous substances to several threats inducing physiological impairments. We aimed at assessing the impact of contamination in one of the hot spots of pollution along Mediterranean coasts, the gulf of Gabes in Tunisia, on Common tern Sterna hirundo, a piscivorous top predator bird. Firstly, we compared the reproductive effort of breeding adults through clutch size distribution in three sites with different levels of pollution. Then, a battery of genotoxicity and oxidative stress biomarkers was carried out to assess physiological impairments in chicks. While defense mechanisms showed a depletion, lipid peroxidation and genotoxicity increased significantly according to pollution level. The multi-biomarker approach used here, discriminated chicks according to contamination degree of their nesting sites. Increases in genotoxicity and oxidative stress were correlated to a decrease in chick body mass known to lead to long-term impacts on juvenile survival and recruitment in birds.

Genotoxic potency of mercuric chloride in gill cells of marine gastropod Planaxis sulcatus using comet assay

In vivo and in vitro exposures were used to investigate the genotoxicity of mercuric chloride (HgCl2) to the marine snail, Planaxis sulcatus. The comet assay protocol was validated on gill cells exposed in vitro to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2, 0-50 μM). Snails were exposed in vivo for 96 h to HgCl2 (10, 20, 50, and 100 μg/l). Our results showed significant concentration-dependent increase in the tail DNA (TDNA) and olive tail moment (OTM) in exposed snails for all doses compared with controls. In vitro exposure to HgCl2 (10-100 μg/l) resulted in significantly higher values for TDNA at all concentrations. Our results showed that DNA damage increased in the gill cell with increasing exposure time. This study demonstrates the usefulness of comet assay for detection of DNA damage after exposure to HgCl2 and the sensitivity of marine snail P. sulcatus as a good candidate species for metal pollution.

The genetic differentiation of Colocasia esculenta growing in gold mining areas with arsenic contamination

Arsenic is a heavy metal found in contaminated gold mining areas and which can affect plant and animal species. This study aims to determine the concentration of As in the aquatic plant Colocasia esculenta as well as this plant's genetic variability. Sediment and C. esculenta samples were collected from three studied sites at the edge of a stream around a gold mine. The arsenic concentrations in sediment and C. esculenta samples were analyzed using induction coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Genetic differentiations were studied by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) with dendrogram construction and analysis of genetic similarity (S). The results showed that the arsenic concentrations in sediment and C. esculenta samples ranged from 4.547 ± 0.318 to 229.964 ± 0.978 and 0.108 ± 0.046 to 0.406 ± 0.174 mg kg(-1), respectively. To compare the samples studied to the reference site, RAPD fingerprints from 26 primers successfully produced 2301 total bands used for dendrogram construction and S value analysis. The dendrogram construction separates C. esculenta into four clusters corresponding to their sampling sites. The S values of the studied sample sites compared to the reference site are 0.676-0.779, 0.739-0.791, and 0.743-0.783 for sites 1, 2, and 3, respectively, whereas the values of the individuals within each site are as high as 0.980. These results suggest that As accumulation in aquatic plant species should be of concern because of the potential effects of As on aquatic plants as well as humans.

Bioavailability and oxidative stress of cadmium to Corbicula fluminea

This work set out to study the effects of cadmium (Cd) in sediments on the antioxidant enzyme activities in the digestive gland of Asian clam Corbicula fluminea and to explore the potential for applying these responses to evaluate the Cd-contaminated sediment. Additionally, diffusive gradients in thin-films (DGT) technique was used to predict the response of its antioxidant defense system. The sediments, collected from Taihu Lake, were spiked with Cd at different concentrations (0.72, 0.91, 1.62, 2.59, 11.2, 20.4 and 40.6 mg kg(-1), dry weight). Asian clam was cultivated for 28 days. Concentrations of Cd in the body of Asian clam had a good relationship with concentrations of Cd in overlying water and sediments, as measured by DGT. Cd affected these biochemical parameters significantly, especially for superoxide (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and glutathione (GSH), which began to show higher sensitivity and have a significant difference in low dosage (0.91 mg Cd kg(-1)) compared with blank. Contents of MDA and MT, which were induced by Cd, increased with the increasing Cd concentration in sediments and reached peak values at 11.2 and 20.4 mg kg(-1), respectively, after 28 days exposure. All of these results suggested that biochemical responses cooperated in detoxifying and maintaining cellular metabolic homeostasis. The R(2) of regression analysis between the contents of MT and the concentrations of Cd measured by DGT, in sediments and soft body were 0.71, 0.94 and 0.88 after 28 days exposure. This suggested that DGT measurement could predict the response of MT. Cd accumulation, GSH and MT were indispensable biomarkers and the MDA content and DGT appeared to be promising biomarkers. The results clearly indicated that Cd could induce oxidative stress in the digestive gland of Asian clam. The combination of biomonitors with DGT can obtain different information about Cd bioavailability and confirm the significance of applying a suite of biomarkers rather than a selective index to assess the sublethal effect. It also offered theoretical methods for the prediction of sediment Cd pollution.