Measurement of DNA integrity in marine gastropods as biomarker of genotoxicity
Date
2011Author
Sarkar, A.
Vashistha, D.
Gupta, N.
Malik, K.
Gaitonde, D.C.S.
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The occurrence of DNA strand breaks in marine gastropods such as Nerita chameleon, Morula granulata and Cerithidea cingulata collected from different sites (Tirakol, Arambol, Dona Paula and Velsao) along the Goa coast are evaluated. In order to identify the hot spot of pollution due to genotoxic compounds, the DNA damage was measured in terms of the loss of DNA integrity in marine gastropods due to the occurrence of DNA strand breaks following the technique of time dependent partially alkaline unwinding assay in a defined condition of pH and temperature. The DNA integrity was expressed in terms of the F-values. Interestingly, the higher the value of F, the lower the occurrence of DNA strand breaks. Among the various species of marine snails, Nerita chameleon (F, 0.44-0.78), Morula granulata (F, 0.14-0.79) and Cerithidea cingulata (F, 0.33-0.51) showed considerably higher DNA integrity at Tirakol. The observed variation in the levels of DNA integrity in different species of the marine gastropods can be attributed to various types of genotoxic compounds prevalent along the Goa coast. Among the genotoxic compounds polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are the major contaminants being spread over the coast through shipping activities, industrial discharge and indiscriminate dumping of waste materials. Based on the variation in DNA integrity in different species of marine gastropods, the Goa coastal regions can be classified into three clusters such as highly contaminated (Dona Paula), moderately contaminated (Velsao and Arambol) and least contaminated site (Tirakol). The DNA integrity in marine gastropods can thus act as a prognostic biomarker of pollution due to genotoxic compounds
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