title: DNA strand breaks (comet assay) in blood lymphocytes from wild bottlenose dolphins.
abstract: The comet assay was carried out on blood lymphocytes from a large number of wild dolphins (71 from Indian River Lagoon, FL, USA; 51 from Charleston Harbor, SC, USA) and provides a baseline study of DNA strand breaks in wild dolphin populations. There were no significant differences in the comet assay (% DNA in tail) results between the different age and sex categories. Significant difference in DNA strand breaks were found between Charleston Harbor dolphins (median--17.4% DNA in tail) and Indian River Lagoon dolphins (median--14.0% DNA in tail). A strong correlation found between T-cell proliferation and DNA strand breaks in dolphin lymphocytes suggests that dolphins with a high numbers of DNA strand breaks have a decreased ability to respond to infection. Higher concentrations of genotoxic agents in Charleston Harbor compared with Indian River lagoon may have been one of the causes of higher DNA strand breaks in these dolphins.
authors.affiliation: Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, 10 Ocean Science Circle, Savannah, GA 31411, United States. Electronic address: dick.lee@skio.uga.edu.
authors.forename: Richard F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Karrie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bulski
authors.forename: Jeffrey D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: Margie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peden-Adams
authors.forename: Gregory D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Bossart
authors.forename: Lydia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: King
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Fair
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D050681:Bottle-Nosed Dolphin / Q000097:blood*; D020552:Comet Assay; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D008214:Lymphocytes; D008297:Male; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Comet assay; Contaminants; DNA; Dolphin; Genotoxicity; Lymphocytes