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Persistent Organochlorine Pollutants (POPs) and DNA Damage in Giant Toads (Rhinella marina) from an Industrial Area at Coatzacoalcos, Mexico

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Abstract

Coatzacoalcos River Basin is one of the most important hydrological and ecological regions of Mexico. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and other contaminants have been detected in several environmental matrices in the region. So far, there have been a few efforts to evaluate exposure and effects on wildlife in the area. The purpose of this research work is to measure exposure to POPs and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage in specimens of giant toads (Rhinella marina) taken from two zones near the industrial complex by the lower Coatzacoalcos River. Total POPs levels in soil and toads' tissues are between 660.5 and 2,712.9 ng/g d.w. and 55.6 and 1,2471.9 ng/g l.w., respectively. We found differences between the body burdens of POPs from different toad tissues evaluated but it did not happen by site type. DNA damage in blood varies from 0.7 to 4.8 (olive tail moment) and 7.4 to 16.7 μm (tail length). DNA damage is found to be higher at industrial zones compared with urban zones. This study provides a data baseline about the POPs pollution status in soil and giant toads of the lower Coatzacoalcos River in Veracruz.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the Dirección General de Investigación sobre la Contaminación Urbana y Regional del Instituto Nacional de Ecología [No. de convenio INE/A1-047/2007] SEMARNAT and Commission For Environmental Cooperation as part of the National Program for Environmental Monitoring and Assessment [No. de convenio N/D 241.0261 File 2011–1014] coordinated by the Dirección General del Centro Nacional de Investigación y Capacitación Ambiental del Instituto Nacional de Ecología y Cambio Climático. Special thanks to Prof. J. Jesus Guerrero Cabrera from the language center of San Luis Potosí Autonomous University and Mark Blackman for English language editing of the manuscript. We also would like to thank PhD. María del Carmen Cuevas Díaz of the Veracruz University Campus at Coatzacoalcos for providing laboratory facilities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Coordinación para la Innovación y la Aplicación de la Ciencia y Tecnología-Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Sierra Leona #550, Lomas 2da Sección. CP, 78210, San Luis Potosí, SLP, México

    Donaji J. Gonzalez-Mille, Guillermo Espinosa-Reyes & César A. Ilizaliturri-Hernández

  2. Centro Regional de Investigación en Salud Pública (CRISP), Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico

    Norma E. Rivero-Pérez & Antonio Trejo-Acevedo

  3. Centro Nacional de Investigación y Capacitación Ambiental, Instituto Nacional de Ecología y Cambio Climático (INECC), Mexico City, Mexico

    Alma D. Nava-Montes

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  1. Donaji J. Gonzalez-Mille
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  2. Guillermo Espinosa-Reyes
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  6. César A. Ilizaliturri-Hernández
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Correspondence to César A. Ilizaliturri-Hernández.

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Gonzalez-Mille, D.J., Espinosa-Reyes, G., Rivero-Pérez, N.E. et al. Persistent Organochlorine Pollutants (POPs) and DNA Damage in Giant Toads (Rhinella marina) from an Industrial Area at Coatzacoalcos, Mexico. Water Air Soil Pollut 224, 1781 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-013-1781-0

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