A multibiomarker evaluation of urban, industrial, and agricultural exposure of small characins in a large freshwater basin in southern Brazil.
Iguaçu River is the second most polluted river of Brazil. It receives agrochemicals and contaminants of urban and industrial sources along its course. A multibiomarker approach was employed here to evaluate the health of a small characin (Astyanax spp.) at two sites along the river, sampled during a dry (autumn) and a rainy (spring) season. Biomarkers were condition factor and somatic indices (gonads and liver); genetic damage (comet assay and micronucleus test); enzyme activities such as hepatic catalase (CAT) and glutathione S-transferase (GST), lipoperoxidation (LPO), branchial and renal carbonic anhydrase (CA), acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in the muscle and the brain, histopathology of the liver and gills, and concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in bile. There were no consistent differences in biomarker responses between the two study sites. Some biomarkers revealed greater potential impact in the rainy season, when increased amounts of contaminants are washed into the river (combined CAT inhibition and LPO increase, CA upregulation). Other biomarkers, however, revealed potential greater impact in the dry season, when contaminants potentially concentrate (GST induction, AChE inhibition, and liver histopathological alterations). Although of a complex nature, field experiments such as this provide rich data for monitoring protocols and assessment of general risk of exposure to pollutants of river systems.
Departamento de Fisiologia, Setor de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Centro Politécnico, Curitiba, Paraná, CEP 81531-990, Brazil, cafreire@ufpr.br.
Carolina A
CA
Freire
Luciana R
LR
Souza-Bastos
Juliana
J
Chiesse
Flávio H
FH
Tincani
Laercio D S
LD
Piancini
Marco A F
MA
Randi
Viviane
V
Prodocimo
Marta M
MM
Cestari
Helena C
HC
Silva-de-Assis
Vinícius
V
Abilhoa
Jean R S
JR
Vitule
Leonardo P
LP
Bastos
Ciro A
CA
de Oliveira-Ribeiro
D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000378:metabolism; D000383:Agriculture; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D001938:Brazil; D002374:Catalase / Q000378:metabolism; D060126:Characidae / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002947:Cities; D020552:Comet Assay; D054750:Ecotoxicology; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005880:Gills / Q000737:chemistry; D005982:Glutathione Transferase / Q000378:metabolism; D007221:Industry; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D012621:Seasons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity
D015415:Biomarkers; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002374:Catalase; D005982:Glutathione Transferase; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase