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Genotoxicity monitoring of freshwater environments using caged carp (Cyprinus carpio)

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Abstract

The present study deals with genotoxicity assessment of freshwaters using caged carp (Cyprinus carpio). Carps were transplanted from a fish-farm to three differently polluted sites in eastern Croatia. Two polluted sites were situated in the river Drava, downstream from the cities of Belišće and Osijek, while the reference site was in the Nature Park Kopački rit, a preserved wetland area with limited anthropogenic influence. Exposure lasted for 3 weeks and was repeated for 3 years (2002–2004). DNA damage was assessed in erythrocytes of the exposed animals by the Comet assay and micronucleus test (MNT). In order to evaluate possible differences in stress responses to polluted water in situ and in aquaria a laboratory exposure was performed with water from the studied location in the second year of the study. Carp from the sites with high anthropogenic influence (Belišće and Osijek) had higher average DNA damage as expressed in both the MNT and Comet assay. Of the two, the Comet assay appeared to be more sensitive following both caging and aquaria exposures. The results from this study suggest that 3 weeks caging exposure of C. carpio may be a useful strategy to monitor for genotoxic agents in freshwater ecosystems.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge support by the Research Council of Norway, for the project no. 150463 with Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) and by the Croatian Scientific Research Council for the project no. 119-0982934-3110.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Göran I. V. Klobučar, Anamaria Štambuk & Mirela Sertić Perić

  2. Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Horvatovac 102a, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia

    Mirjana Pavlica

  3. Department of Biology, University of Josip Juraj Strossmayer, Trg Ljudevita Gaja 6, 31000, Osijek, Croatia

    Branimir Kutuzović Hackenberger

  4. Department of Biology, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1066, Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway

    Ketil Hylland

  5. Norwegian Institute for Water Research, CIENS, Gaustadalleen 21, 0349, Oslo, Norway

    Ketil Hylland

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  1. Göran I. V. Klobučar
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  2. Anamaria Štambuk
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  3. Mirjana Pavlica
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  4. Mirela Sertić Perić
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  5. Branimir Kutuzović Hackenberger
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Correspondence to Göran I. V. Klobučar.

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Klobučar, G.I.V., Štambuk, A., Pavlica, M. et al. Genotoxicity monitoring of freshwater environments using caged carp (Cyprinus carpio). Ecotoxicology 19, 77–84 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-009-0390-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-009-0390-6

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