DNA Damage and Apoptotic Effects in Water Samples of a Brazilian River Protected by the HELP Program of UNESCO

Autor: Luciana Paula Grégio d’Arce, Thayná Assakawa dos Santos, Maruhen Amir Datsch Silveira, Diego Luis Ribeiro, Natani Ribeiro Demarco
Rok vydání: 2018
Předmět:
Zdroj: Exposure and Health. 11:291-296
ISSN: 2451-9685
2451-9766
DOI: 10.1007/s12403-018-0271-4
Popis: When a possible hazard is observed, it is essential to monitor the local environment and verify possible worsening of conditions. In a previous study of the Sao Francisco Verdadeiro River (Parana, Brazil), we observed increases in micronucleus (MN) frequencies in a resident fish species (Astyanax paranae). After our study, the Sao Francisco Verdadeiro River was included in the Hydrology for the Environment, Life, and Policy (HELP) program, an initiative from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to promote watershed management in degraded environments. Following the inclusion of the river in the HELP program, we aimed to verify whether the river still presented mutagenic potential and possible hazards to the environment and humans. To evaluate potential hazards, the Allium cepa test was used and the mitotic index, MN, and chromosomal aberration (CA) frequencies were analyzed in A. cepa cells exposed to water samples collected from two sites on the Sao Francisco Verdadeiro River during the winter (the season with the most pronounced effects in our previous study). Distilled water was used as negative control, and methyl methane sulfonate as positive control. We found significantly higher CA and MN frequencies in samples from both sites than in the control samples and a significant induction of early apoptotic cells, an uncommon observation in water samples. Our results demonstrate that despite inclusion in the UNESCO’s HELP program, the Sao Francisco Verdadeiro River has mutagenic potential, likely because of ongoing contamination by sewage, waste pesticides, and other agents, and thus, continues to present a hazard to humans and the environment.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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