The use of biomarkers in biomonitoring: a 2-tier approach assessing the level of pollutant-induced stress syndrome in sentinel organisms.
The paper outlines a 2-tier approach for wide-scale biomonitoring programmes. To obtain a high level of standardization, we suggest the use of caged organisms (mussels or fish). An "early warning", highly sensitive, low-cost biomarker is employed in tier 1 (i.e. lysosomal membrane stability (LMS) and survival rate, a marker for highly polluted sites). Tier 2 is used only for animals sampled at sites in which LMS changes are evident and there is no mortality, with a complete battery of biomarkers assessing the levels of pollutant-induced stress syndrome. Possible approaches for integrating biomarker data in a synthetic index are discussed, along with our proposal to use a recently developed Expert System. The latter system allows a correct selection of biomarkers at different levels of biological organisation (molecular/cellular/tissue/organism) taking into account trends in pollutant-induced biomarker changes (increasing, decreasing, bell-shape). A selection of biomarkers of stress, genotoxicity and exposure usually employed in biomonitoring programmes is presented, together with a brief overview of new biomolecular approaches.
Viarengo
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A
Department of Environmental and Life Sciences (DiSAV), University of Piemonte Orientale, Via Bellini 25/G 15100 Alessandria, Italy. viarengo@unipmn.it
Lowe
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D
Bolognesi
C
C
Fabbri
E
E
Koehler
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A
D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis*; D004249:DNA Damage; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D005399:Fishes; D007425:Intracellular Membranes / Q000187:drug effects; D008136:Longevity / Q000187:drug effects; D008247:Lysosomes / Q000187:drug effects; D009153:Mutagens / Q000633:toxicity; D049880:Mytilus edulis; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance; D018675:Toxicity Tests / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
D015415:Biomarkers; D009153:Mutagens; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical