title: Micronucleus test in fishes as indicators of environmental quality in subestuaries of the Río de la Plata (Uruguay).
abstract: Genotoxic agents may exert damage that may be active through following generations. Micronuclei are cytoplasmic chromatin masses outside the main cell nucleus, indicators of chromosomal damage. This study applied micronuclei test to evaluate genetic damage of fish in three breeding and nursery areas of commercially important fishes exposed to differing degrees of anthropogenic impact: Pando, Solís Chico and Solís Grande sub-estuaries. The micronuclei test revealed differences in the presence and concentrations of genotoxic components in these sub-estuaries. Fish in the urban and industrialized Pando sub-estuary presented the highest percentages of micronuclei. The absence of seasonal changes in micronuclei in Pando fish could be explained by physical characteristics of the sub-estuary and by regional weather conditions. Odontesthes argentinensis (Valenciennes, 1835) was the species most susceptible to genotoxic components. It is recommended the use of a battery of biomarkers to better explain the health of organisms in that important nursery area.
authors.affiliation: Sección Oceanografía y Ecología Marina, Facultad de Ciencias, UdelaR, Montevideo, Uruguay; Servicio de MEB, Epifluorescencia y EDS, Facultad de Ciencias, UdelaR, Montevideo, Uruguay. Electronic address: jgutierrez@fcien.edu.uy.
authors.forename: Juan Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gutiérrez
authors.affiliation: Servicio de MEB, Epifluorescencia y EDS, Facultad de Ciencias, UdelaR, Montevideo, Uruguay.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Villar
authors.affiliation: Sección Oceanografía y Ecología Marina, Facultad de Ciencias, UdelaR, Montevideo, Uruguay.
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Acuña Plavan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004249:DNA Damage; D054750:Ecotoxicology / Q000379:methods*; D063366:Estuaries; D005399:Fishes; D015162:Micronucleus Tests / Q000379:methods*; D012621:Seasons; D013045:Species Specificity; D014507:Urbanization; D014583:Uruguay; D060753:Water Quality
keywords: Biomarkers; DNA damage; Environmental quality; Estuary; Micronuclei