Measurement of DNA strand breaks as a biomarker of genotoxic pollutants
Abstract
This paper deals with the development of a molecular biomarker technique by measurement of DNA integrity in marine organisms for biomonitoring of pollution due to genotoxic compounds. The marine environment is continuously being polluted by different genotoxic contaminants. Effect of these genotoxic contaminants is predicted with the help of biomarkers, which acts as early warning signals for marine pollution. These contaminants have shown adverse effects on the genetic material of various marine organisms. Various genotoxic compounds like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), polychlorinated biphenyls(PCB) etc interact with DNA molecule to form DNA adduct leading to DNA strand breaks. Hence DNA integrity can be used as a potent biomarker to measure pollution stress in marine organisms. In this paper we have studied the DNA integrity of marine gastropod, Nerita chameleon along the Goa coast. The DNA integrities in marine organism at different locations were compared with those at the reference site (Betul). The measurement of level of DNA integrity in marine organisms along the Goa coast exposed to enhanced levels of various genotoxic contaminants clearly indicated the extent and nature of pollution at the sampling site along coastal environment
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