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Gill Histopathological Biomarkers in Fish Exposed to Trace Metals in the Todos os Santos Bay, Brazil

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Abstract

Histopathologies are widely recognized as biomarkers of environmental pollution. In this sense, we evaluated the putative relationship of gill histopathologies and distinct ecological impacts in two regions of Todos os Santos Bay (BTS), Brazil, the largest bay in Northeastern Brazil, South Atlantic. We compared the presence and concentration of metals (Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn) in water, sediments, and gills and gill histopathologies of a demersal fish (Diapterus rhombeus) and a benthic fish (Ogcocephalus vespertilio). As expected, fish and sediment samples from historically contaminated areas (Aratu) showed more remarkable traces of metals than apparently low-impact areas (Jaguaripe). Likewise, the DTC (degree of tissue change) index and the volume densities were higher in fish caught in Aratu. In addition, the Diapterus rhombeus species showed more potential than Ogcocephalus vespertilio for risk assessment as it showed more responses to the environment reflected on more histopathologies. These data support the effectiveness of incorporating functional gill morphology to monitor impacts on estuarine biota that can be used as a reference to improve the management of ecosystems and prevent harm to human health.

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Acknowledgements

H.H.Q.O. and L.A.S.M. thank the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development, Brazil (CNPq) and Foundation for Research Support of the state of Bahia, Brazil (FAPESB) for the master’s fellowships. R.M.S. and E.F.E.S. thank CNPq for the scientific initiation scholarships. J.A.C.C.N. and J.A.R.F. thank Coordination of Improvement of Higher-Level Personnel, Brazil (CAPES), Finance Code 001, for PhD fellowships. The authors also thank Ralph Gruppi Thomé (UFSJ, Divinópolis, MG, Brazil) and Marisa Narciso Fernandes (UFSCar, São Carlos, SP, Brazil) for their comments and suggestions, Domingos Cardoso for computer assistance, and the Laboratório de Microscopia Eletrônica, FIOCRUZ, Salvador, Bahia, for the assistance on microscopy electronic transmission.

Funding

This study was financially supported by the National Institute of Science and Technology in Comparative Physiology (INCT-Comparative Physiology, Brazil) to ALC, and Fapesb (Foundation for Research Support of the State of Bahia, Brazil) (RED0037/2014) on behalf of ALC and PRAMA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA), Barão de Jeremoabo, 147, Salvador, BA, 40170-115, Brazil

    Heigon H. Queiroz Oliveira, José Amorim Reis-Filho, José Anchieta C. C. Nunes, Renata Melo dos Santos, Eunice de F. Esteves Santiago, Letícia Aguilar & André Luis da Cruz

  2. Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual Do Sudoeste da Bahia (UESB), Campus de Jequié, Jequié, BA, 45205-490, Brazil

    Paulo R. A. de Mello Affonso

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  1. Heigon H. Queiroz Oliveira
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Contributions

H.H.Q.O.: conceptualization, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, and writing—original draft

J.A.R.F.: conceptualization, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, resources, supervision and writing—original draft.

J.A.C.C.N.: formal analysis, investigation, resources and writing—original draft

R.M.S.: investigation, formal analysis and writing—review & editing

E.F.E.S.: investigation and formal analysis

L.A.: investigation, formal analysis and writing—review & editing

P.R.A.M.A.: conceptualization, funding acquisition, project administration and resources

A.L.C.: conceptualization, formal analysis, investigation, funding acquisition, methodology, project administration, resources, supervision and writing—review & editing

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Correspondence to André Luis da Cruz.

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Oliveira, H.H.Q., Reis-Filho, J.A., Nunes, J.A.C.C. et al. Gill Histopathological Biomarkers in Fish Exposed to Trace Metals in the Todos os Santos Bay, Brazil. Biol Trace Elem Res 200, 3388–3399 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-021-02930-9

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