title: Seahorse (Hippocampus reidi) as a bioindicator of crude oil exposure.
abstract: This study explored the suitability of the seahorse Hippocampus reidi (Ginsburg, 1933) for assessing biomarkers of genotoxic effects and its use as a sentinel organism to detect the effects of acute exposure to petroleum hydrocarbons. Fish were exposed to three concentrations of crude oil (10, 20 and 30 g/kg) for 96 h, and the activity of phase II biotransformation enzyme glutathione S-transferase (GST) was measured. In addition, we performed genotoxicity assays, such as comet assay, micronucleus (MN) test and nuclear abnormalities (NA) induction, on the erythrocytes of the fish species. Our results revealed that the inhibition of hepatic GST activity in H. reidi was dependent on increasing crude oil concentrations. In contrast, an increase in the damage index (DI) and MN frequency were observed with increased crude oil concentrations. These results indicate that the alkaline comet assay and micronucleus test were suitable and useful in the evaluation of the genotoxicity of crude oil, which could improve determinations of the impact of oil spills on fish populations. In addition, H. reidi is a promising "sentinel organism" to detect the genotoxic impact of petroleum hydrocarbons.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Ictiologia Aplicada, Universidade Vila Velha (LAB PEIXE-UVV), CEP.: 29102-770, Vila Velha, Espírito Santo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Frederico Augusto Cariello
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Delunardo
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Ictiologia Aplicada, Universidade Vila Velha (LAB PEIXE-UVV), CEP.: 29102-770, Vila Velha, Espírito Santo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luciano Rodrigues
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: de Carvalho
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Ictiologia Aplicada, Universidade Vila Velha (LAB PEIXE-UVV), CEP.: 29102-770, Vila Velha, Espírito Santo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Bruno Ferreira
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Ictiologia Aplicada, Universidade Vila Velha (LAB PEIXE-UVV), CEP.: 29102-770, Vila Velha, Espírito Santo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Galão
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Ecofisiologia e Evolução Molecular (LEEM-INPA), CEP: 69067-375 Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil.
authors.forename: Adalberto Luís
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Val
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Ictiologia Aplicada, Universidade Vila Velha (LAB PEIXE-UVV), CEP.: 29102-770, Vila Velha, Espírito Santo, Brazil. Electronic address: adriana.chippari@uvv.br.
authors.forename: Adriana R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Chippari-Gomes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020552:Comet Assay; D004249:DNA Damage; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000378:metabolism*; D015162:Micronucleus Tests; D010578:Petroleum / Q000633:toxicity*; D059392:Petroleum Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D023701:Smegmamorpha; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D010578:Petroleum; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D005982:Glutathione Transferase; C041116:leukotriene-C4 synthase
keywords: Biomarkers; Genotoxicity tests; Glutathione S-transferase; Petroleum; Seahorse