Abstract
The aim of the study was to use the comet assay (single-cell gel electrophoresis) and micronucleus test to assess the extent of genomic damage in the whole blood of Dendropsophus minutus from agroecosystems with great use of agrochemicals and to compare the results to those obtained from animals living in unpolluted areas. Our results indicated that specimens of D. minutus collected in perturbed areas exhibited higher amounts of DNA damage in blood cells in comparison to animals from areas free of agricultural activities. The average and standard deviation of all comet assay parameters (tail length, percentage of DNA in the tail, and olive tail moment) and micronuclei frequency were significantly higher in specimens collected in perturbed areas than in the animals from preserved areas. Our study showed that animals from perturbed areas, such as agroecosystems, tend to have higher amounts of DNA damage than animals from reference areas. Moreover, we can conclude that D. minutus tadpoles could be included as a model organism in biomonitoring studies.
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Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledged Mr. S. Quail for proofreading this manuscript. To Projeto Girinos do Brasil (Edital SISBIOTA: Processos CNPq 563075/2010-4 and FAPESP 2010/52321-7) and to FAPEG (Processo 201210267001094). To Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for fellowships to RPB and DCRF. PGG and MWG also thank CAPES and FAPEG for fellowships, respectively.
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Gonçalves, M.W., Vieira, T.B., Maciel, N.M. et al. Detecting genomic damages in the frog Dendropsophus minutus: preserved versus perturbed areas. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 3947–3954 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3682-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3682-1