title: Analysis of fish DNA biomarkers as a molecular-level approach for ecological health assessments in an urban stream.
abstract: This study was performed to determine the ecosystem health of an urban stream using DNA damage biomarkers of sentinel fish species along with chemical analyses of water and sediments in the impacted and reference zones. The results based on single-cell gel electrophoresis showed that the extent of DNA damage was significantly elevated in the polluted zone. The severity of DNA damage in the impacted zone was largely attributed to high levels of heavy metals, such as As, Zn, Pb, and Ni. The DNA damage biomarker in benthic fish was sensitive to habitat change, which suggested that this fish species and biomarker are excellent tools for risk assessment. The acute toxicity tests demonstrated that SCGE was sufficient to reflect the different genotypes and pollution statuses and to propose the possibility of zebrafish erythrocytes as competitive materials.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Science, College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 305-764, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Nami
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Han-Il
authors.initials: HI
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Kwang-Guk
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: An
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D020552:Comet Assay; D003530:Cyprinidae / Q000235:genetics*; D004249:DNA Damage; D017753:Ecosystem; D054750:Ecotoxicology; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D009152:Mutagenicity Tests; D018570:Risk Assessment; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D014867:Water