title: Reproductive effects in hybrid sparrow from a polluted area in Tunisia: Oxidative damage and altered testicular histomorphology.
abstract: Air pollution is a threat for human health and wildlife. The aim of this study is to assess the pathophysiological changes and the oxidative-antioxidative status in testicular tissues of 40 Hybrid sparrows collected from four areas in Gabès city, one of the most polluted areas in Tunisia. The testis histopathological analysis revealed alterations in birds from Ghannouche, the polluted area. The thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) levels were higher in testis of birds from the contaminated site compared to less polluted areas indicating oxidative damage to membrane lipids. Antioxidant enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase and catalase) were lower in testis sparrows from the polluted site compared with the reference site, suggesting deficiency of the antioxidant system to compensate for oxidative stress. Overall, our results suggest that the hybrid sparrow offers a suitable model for biomonitoring programs of atmosphere pollutants and the selected biomarkers could be useful tool to evaluate pollution impacts in living organisms.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Histo-Embryology and Cytogenetic, Medicine Faculty of Sfax University, 3029 Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Nahed
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Amri
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences of Gabès University, Zrig, 6072 Gabès, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Abdessalem
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hammouda
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Histo-Embryology and Cytogenetic, Medicine Faculty of Sfax University, 3029 Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Fatma
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rahmouni
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences of Gabès University, Zrig, 6072 Gabès, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Med Ali
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Chokri
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biochemistry, CHU Hédi Chaker of Sfax, 3029 Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Rim
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chaabane
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences of Gabès University, Zrig, 6072 Gabès, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Slaheddine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Selmi
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Histo-Embryology and Cytogenetic, Medicine Faculty of Sfax University, 3029 Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Tarek
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rebai
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Histo-Embryology and Cytogenetic, Medicine Faculty of Sfax University, 3029 Sfax, Tunisia; Laboratory of Histology-Cytology, Medicine Faculty of Tunis El-Manar University, 1007 La Rabta-Tunis, Tunisia. Electronic address: badraouir@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Riadh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Badraoui
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D002374:Catalase / Q000378:metabolism; D002947:Cities; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects; D008297:Male; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology; D012098:Reproduction; D046370:Sparrows / Q000502:physiology*; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism; D013737:Testis / Q000378:metabolism*; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances / Q000378:metabolism; D014416:Tunisia
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances; D002374:Catalase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase
keywords: Biomarker; Ecotoxicology; Gabès; Hybrid sparrow; Reproductive toxicology; Testes