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Frequency of micronuclei and of other nuclear abnormalities in erythrocytes of the grey mullet from the Mondego, Douro and Ave estuaries—Portugal

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Abstract

Fish are bioindicators of water pollution, and an increased rate of their erythrocyte nuclear morphological abnormalities (ENMAs)—and particularly of erythrocyte micronuclei (EMN)—is used as a genotoxicity biomarker. Despite the potential value of ENMAs and MN, there is scarce information about fish captured in Iberian estuaries. This is the case of the Portuguese estuaries of the Mondego, Douro and Ave, suffering from different levels of environmental stress and where chemical surveys have been disclosing significant amounts of certain pollutants. So, the aim of this study was to evaluate genotoxicants impacts and infer about the exposure at those ecosystems, using the grey mullet (Mugil cephalus) as bioindicator and considering the type and frequency of nuclear abnormalities of erythrocytes as proxies of genotoxicity. Sampling of mullets was done throughout the year in the important Mondego, Douro and Ave River estuaries (centre and north-western Portugal). The fish (total n = 242) were caught in campaigns made in spring–summer and autumn–winter, using nets or fishing rods. The sampled mullets were comparable between locations in terms of the basic biometric parameters. Blood smears were stained with Diff-Quik to assess the frequencies of six types of ENMAs and MN (given per 1,000 erythrocytes). Some basic water physicochemical parameters were recorded to search for fluctuations matching the ENMAs. Overall, the most frequent nucleus abnormality was the polymorphic type, sequentially followed by the blebbed/lobed/notched, segmented, kidney shaped, vacuolated, MN and binucleated. The total average frequency of the ENMAs ranged from 73 ‰ in the Mondego to 108 ‰ in the Ave. The polymorphic type was typically ≥50 % of the total ENMAs, averaging about 51 ‰, when considering all three estuaries. The most serious lesion—the MN—in fish from Mondego and Douro had a similar frequency (≈0.38 ‰), which was significantly lower than that in the Ave (0.75 ‰). No significant seasonal differences existed as to the MN rates and seasonal differences existed almost only in the Douro, with the higher values in AW. In general, the pattern of ENMAs frequencies was unrelated with the water physicochemical parameters. Considering the data for both the total ENMAs and for each specific abnormality, and bearing in mind that values of MN in fish erythrocytes >0.3 ‰ usually reflect pollution by genotoxicants, it is suggested that mullets were likely being chronically exposed to such compounds, even in the allegedly less polluted ecosystem (Mondego). Moreover, data supported the following pollution exposure gradient: Mondego < Douro < Ave. The scenario and inferences nicely agree with the published data from chemical monitoring.

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Acknowledgments

This work was partially supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funds through the Competitiveness and Trade Expansion Program (COMPETE), and by National Funds provided by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), via the research projects PTDC/MAR/70436/2006, PEst-C/MAR/LA0015/2011, PEst-C/MAR/LA0015/2013, and also by the PhD grant SFRH/BD/25746/2005.

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  1. UTAD—University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, ECVA—School of Life and Environmental Sciences, CITAB—Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences, Quinta de Prados, Apartado 1013, 5001-801, Vila Real, Portugal

    João Carrola & António Fontainhas-Fernandes

  2. Laboratory of Histology and Embryology, Department of Microscopy, Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS), University of Porto (UPorto), Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira n. 228, 4050-313, Porto, Portugal

    Nádia Santos, Maria J. Rocha, Rogério A. F. Monteiro & Eduardo Rocha

  3. Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Superior Institute of Health Sciences-North (ISCS-N), CESPU, Rua Central de Gandra 1317, 4585-116, Gandra, Paredes, Portugal

    Maria J. Rocha

  4. Laboratory of Cellular, Molecular and Analytical Studies, Interdisciplinary Center of Marine and Environmental Research (CIIMAR), CIMAR Associated Laboratory (CIMAR LA), University of Porto (UPorto), Rua dos Bragas, 289, 4050-123, Porto, Portugal

    Maria J. Rocha, Rogério A. F. Monteiro & Eduardo Rocha

  5. Centre for Functional Ecology, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Apartado 3046, 3001-401, Coimbra, Portugal

    Miguel A. Pardal

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  1. João Carrola
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Carrola, J., Santos, N., Rocha, M.J. et al. Frequency of micronuclei and of other nuclear abnormalities in erythrocytes of the grey mullet from the Mondego, Douro and Ave estuaries—Portugal. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 6057–6068 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-2537-0

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