Abstract
Vanadium (V) is a toxicant becoming increasingly concentrated in freshwater with the potential to affect aquatic organisms. Vanadium pentoxide (V2O5), accumulated in fish, can act as an oxidizing agent and cause oxidative damage. To determine the effects of V2O5 on exposed adult Oreochromis mossambicus, acute exposure experiments were conducted. Bioaccumulation and biomarker analyses were performed on various excised tissues of the exposed fish. As expected, accumulated V concentrations in the gills increased as the exposure concentration increased. Gill tissue accumulated more vanadium than muscle tissue. Metallothionein content increased in the highest concentrations compared to the lower concentrations, therefore showing that metallothionein proteins were attempting to sequester V2O5 in the tissues. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) showed an excitation at lower concentrations and inhibition as the exposure concentrations increased, possibly due to ROS detoxification. Catalase activity decreased from the first exposure concentration to the last concentration; this could have been due to SOD compensation. Protein carbonyl concentration decreased as the concentrations of V2O5 increased, indicating an inhibition of protein oxidation. The IBRv2 comparison revealed the biochemical responses caused by V2O5 more effectively than traditional statistical analysis.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the University of Johannesburg for their financial contributions to this study in the form of the Global Excellence and Stature (GES) bursary. The authors would also like to put a note of acknowledgement for metal analysis done by SPECTRUM at the University of Johannesburg. We would also like to thank Mr. GR van Rensburg for his assistance with the IBRv2 analysis.
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This project was supported by the University of Johannesburg Global Excellence and Stature with student bursary.
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KB, SD-V and RG contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by KB. The first draft of the manuscript was written by KB and SD-V and RG commented on previous versions of the manuscript. KB, SD-V and RG read and approved the final manuscript.
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Beine, K., Dahms-Verster, S. & Greenfield, R. An integrated biomarker assessment of biochemical responses in a freshwater fish species after vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) exposure. Fish Physiol Biochem 48, 1221–1233 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-022-01113-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-022-01113-0