Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Assessing metal, protein, and DNA profiles in Labeo rohita from the Indus River in Mianwali, Pakistan

  • Published:
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study assessed metals in water and different tissues of Labeo rohita and the impact of these metals on DNA and proteins as biomarkers of gills and muscles of these fish from three different polluted sites (reference or low = KW, medium = CH and high = SK) of the Indus River, Pakistan. The Mn, Pb, Cu, Zn, Hg, and Cr levels in water, gills, liver, muscles, and skin of these fish were compared with the international permissible levels. All metals except Pb and Hg in water were within the acceptable limits of drinking water. In contrast, the Mn, Hg, and Cr levels in the fish tissues were higher than their permissible limits for fish as a human food. Here, the gills contained higher metals than the other tissues. Different patterns of biomarkers were found in fish from these sites. While the gills did not show four protein bands (55, 30, 18.4, and 16.4 kDa), the muscles showed four new protein bands (100, 85, 45, and 20 kDa) for fish from the medium and high polluted sites as compared to the reference or low polluted site. The fish from the CH and SK sites of the Indus River contained low molecular weight DNA in their gills but high molecular weight DNA in their muscles when compared with the KW site. This study suggests that the proteins and DNA profiles of L. rohita could be used as biomarkers to assess the impact of potential environmental stressors such as metals on the freshwater systems.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adeyeye, E. I., Akinyugha, N. J., Fesobi, M. E., & Tenabe, V. O. (1996). Determination of some metals in Clarias gariepinus (Cuvier and Valenciennes), Cyprino carpio (L) and Oreochromis niloticus fishes in a polyculture freshwater pond and their environments. Aquaculture, 47, 205–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adhikari, S., Ghosh, L., Giri, B. S., & Ayyappan, S. (2009). Distribution of metals in the food web of fish ponds of Kolleru lake India. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 72, 1242–1248.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Almeida, E. A., Dainy, A. C. D., Gomes, O. F., Medeiros, M. H. G., & Mascio, P. D. (2005). Oxidative stress in digestive gland and gill of the mussel (Perna perna) exposed to air and re-submersed. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 318, 21–30.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Al-Yousuf, M. H., El-Shahawi, M. S., & Al-Ghais, S. M. (2000). Trace metals in liver, skin and muscle of Lethrinus lentjan fish species in relation to body length and sex. Science of the Total Environment, 256, 87–94.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Amundsen, P. A., Staldvik, F. J., Lukin, A., Kashulin, N., Popova, O., & Reshetnikov, Y. (1997). Heavy metals contamination in freshwater fish from the border region between Norway and Russia. Science of the Total Environment, 201, 211–24.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barrett, J., Brophy, P. M., & Hamilton, J. V. (2005). Analysing proteomic data. International Journal of Parasitology, 35(5), 543–553.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bendell-Young, L., & Harvey, H. H. (1986). Uptake and tissue distribution of manganese in the white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) under conditions of low pH. Hydrobiolgia, 113, 117–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benninghoff, A. D. (2007). Toxicoproteomics—the next step in the evolution of biological monitoring. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, 86(C), 233–245.

    Google Scholar 

  • Black, M. C., Ferrell, J. R., Horning, R. C., & Martin, L. K., Jr. (1996). DNA strand breakage in freshwater mussels (Anodonta grandis) exposed to lead in the laboratory and field. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 15(5), 802–808.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bradford, M. B. (1976). A rapid and sensitive method for quantification of microgram quantities of protein utilising the principle of protein dye binding. Analytical Biochemistry, 72, 248–254.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cajaraville, M. P., Bebianno, M. J., Blasco, J., Porte, C., Sarasquete, C., & Viarengo, A. (2000). The use of biomarkers to assess the impact of pollution in coastal environments of the Iberian Peninsula: A practical approach. Science of the Total Environment, 247, 295–311.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chang, S., Zdanowicz, V. S., & Murchelano, R. A. (1998). Associations between liver lesions in winter flounder (Pleuronectes americanus) and sediment chemical contaminants from north-east United States estuaries. Journal of Marine Science, 55, 954–969.

    Google Scholar 

  • Connell, D., Lam, P., Richardson, B., & Wu, R. (1999). Introduction to ecotoxicology (p 135). Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dallas, H. F., & Day, J. A. (1993). The Effect of water quality variables on riverine ecosystems: A review. South African Water Research Commission Technical Report TT61/93, Pretoria.

  • Demirak, A., Yilmaz, F., Tuna, A. L., & Ozdemir, N. (2006). Heavy metals in water, sediment and tissues of Leuciscus cephalus from a stream in south western Turkey. Chemosphere, 63, 1451–1458.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • DWAF (Department of Water Affairs and Forestry) (1996) South African water quality guidelines, aquatic ecosystems (2nd Ed., Vo. 7, p. 159). Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Pretoria: South Africa.

    Google Scholar 

  • FEPA (Federal Environmental Protection Agency) (2003). Guidelines and standards for environmental pollution control in Nigeria (p. 238).

  • Foster, E. P., Drake, D. L., & Didomenico, G. (2000). Seasonal changes and tissue distribution of mercury in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) from Dorena Reservoir, Oregon. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 38, 78–82.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Galloway, T. S., Brown, R. J., Browne, M. A., Dissanayake, A., Lowe, D., Jones, M. B., et al. (2004). A multi biomarker approach to environmental assessment. Environmental Science and Technology, 38(6), 1723–1731.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Galvin, R. M. (1996). Occurrence of metals in water: An overview. Water South Africa, 22(1), 7–18.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Havelkova, M., Dusek, L., Nemethova, D., Poleszczuk, G., & Svobodova, Z. (2008). Comparison of mercury distribution between liver and muscle—a biomonitoring of fish from lightly and heavily contaminated localities. Sensors, 8(7), 4095–4109.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hoff, P. T., Van Dongen, W., Esmans, E. L., Blust, R. & De Coen, W. M. (2003). Evaluation of the toxicological effects of perflurooctane sulfonic acid in the common carp (Cyprinus carpio). Aquatic toxicology, 62(4), 349–359.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ikem, A., Egiebor, N. O., & Nyavor, K. (2003). Trace elements in water, fish and sediments from Tuskegee lake, Southeastern USA. Water Air and Soil pollution, 149, 51–75.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hoff, P. T., Van Dongen, W., Esmans, E. L., Blust, R. & De Coen, W. M. (2003). Evaluation of the toxicological effects of perflurooctane sulfonic acid in the common carp (Cyprinus carpio). Aquatic toxicology, 62(4), 349–359.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jabeen, F., & Chaudhry, A. S. (2009a). Environmental impacts of anthropogenic activities on the mineral uptake in Oreochromis mossambicus from the Indus River in Pakistan. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. doi:10.1007/s10661-009-1029-Z.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jabeen, F., & Chaudhry, A. S. (2009b). Monitoring trace metals in different tissues of Cyprinus carpio from the Indus River in Pakistan. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. doi:10.1007/s10661-009-1263-4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jayakumar, P. V., & Paul, V. I. (2006). Patterns of cadmium accumulation in selected tissues of the catfish Clarias batrachus (Linn.) exposed to sub lethal concentration of cadmium chloride. Veterinarski Arhive, 76, 167–177.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jezierska, B., & Witeska, M. (2001). Metal toxicity to fish. Wydawnicko akademii Podlaskiej, Siedlce, 318.

  • Kent, C. (1998). Basic toxicology (pp 1–402). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laemmli, U. (1970). Cleavage of structural proteins during the assembly of the head of the bacteriophage T4. Nature, 277(259), 680–685.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Linde, A. R., Sanchez-Galan, S., & Garcia-vazquez, E. (2004). Heavy metal contamination of European eel (Anquilla anquilla) and brown trout (Salmo trutta) caught in wild ecosystems in Spain. Journal of Food Protection, 67, 2332–2336.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Manna, G. K., & Mukherjee, P. K. (1986). Effect of organophosphate insecticide, malathion on chromosome cell division and total muscle proteins of cichlid fish Tilapia. Cytology and Genetics, 5, 225–235.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore, J. W. W., & Ramamoorthy, S. (1984). Heavy metals in natural waters: Applied monitoring and impact assessment (p. 268). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muthukumaravel, K., Kumarasamy, P., Amsath, A., & Paulraj, G. M. (2007). Toxic effect of cadmium on the electrophoretic protein patterns of gill and muscle of Oreochromis mossambicus. E-Journal of Chemistry, 4(2), 284–286.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • NEQ (1999). National Environmental quality standards of Pakistan. Pakistan Environmental Protection Council, Government of Pakistan.

  • Newman, M. C. (1998). Fundamentals of ecotoxicology (pp. 25–39). Chelsea: Ann Arbor.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pandey, A., & Mann, M. (2000). Proteomics to study genes and genomes. Nature, 405, 837–846.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pandey, S., Parvez, S., Sayeed, I., Haque, R., Bin-Hafeez, B., & Raisuddin, S. (2003). Biomarkers of oxidative stress: A comparative study of river Yamuna fish Wallago attu (Bl. & Schn.). Science of the Total Environment, 309, 105–115.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Paul, M. J., & Meyer, J. L. (2001). Streams in the urban landscape. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 32, 333–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pavlica, M., Klobucas, G. I. V., Mojas, N., Erben, R., & Papes, D. (2001). Detection of DNA damage in haemocytes of Zebra mussel using comet assay. Mutation Research, 490, 209–214.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rejomon, G., Nair, M., & Joseph, T. (2009). Trace metal dynamics in fishes from the southwest coast of India. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. doi:10.1007/s10661-009-1046-y.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sidoumou, Z., Gnassia-Barelli, M., Siau, Y., Morton, V., & Roméo, M. (2005). Distribution and concentration of trace metals in tissues of different fish species from Atlantic coast of Western Africa”. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 74, 998–995.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steinert, S. A. (1999). DNA damage as a bivalve biomarker. Biomarkers, 4(6), 492–496.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sures, B., Steiner, W., Rydlo, M., & Taraschewski, H. (1999). Concentrations of 17 elements in the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha), in different tissues of perch (Perca fluviatilis), and in perch intestinalparasites (Acanthocephalus lucii) from the subalpine Lake Mondsee, Austria. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 18, 2574–2579.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Svobodová, Z., Piačka, V., Vykusová, B., Máchová, J., Hejtmánek, M., Hrbková, M., et al. (1995). Residues of pollutants in siluriformes from various localities of Czech Republic. Acta Veterianaria Brnunensis, 64, 195–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tariq, J., Ashraf, M., Jaffar, M., & Afzal, M. (1996). Pollution status of the Indus River, Pakistan, through heavy metal and macronutrient contents of fish, sediment and water. Water research, 30(6), 1337–1344.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • UNEPGEMS (2006), United Nations Environment Programme Global Environment Monitoring System/ Water Programme. (Water Quality for Ecosystem and Human Health) ISBN 92-95039-10-6.

  • USEPA (2007). US standards for safe drinking water. http://www.epa.gov/safewater/contaminants/index.html#inorganic.

  • Van der Oost, R., Beber, J., & Vermeulen, N. P. E. (2003). Fish bioaccumulation and biomarkers in environmental risk assessment: A review. Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology, 13, 57–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • WHO (World Health Organization) (1985). Guidelines for drinking water quality (Vol. 1, p. 130). Recommendation W.H.O.: Geneva.

    Google Scholar 

  • WHO (2004). Guidelines for drinking water quality (3rd Ed., Vol. 1). Recommendations. Geneva: World Health Organization.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Agriculture Food and Rural Development, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

    Abdul Shakoor Chaudhry & Farhat Jabeen

  2. Department of Zoology, GC University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan

    Farhat Jabeen

Authors
  1. Abdul Shakoor Chaudhry
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Farhat Jabeen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Abdul Shakoor Chaudhry.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Chaudhry, A.S., Jabeen, F. Assessing metal, protein, and DNA profiles in Labeo rohita from the Indus River in Mianwali, Pakistan. Environ Monit Assess 174, 665–679 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-010-1486-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-010-1486-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation