DNA damage in the kidney tissue cells of the fish Rhamdia
quelen after trophic contamination with aluminum sulfate |
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Authors: | Tatiane Klingelfus Paula Moiana da Costa Marcos Scherer Marta Margarete Cestari |
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Institution: | Departamento de Genética, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, PR, Brazil |
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Abstract: | Even though aluminum is the third most common element present in the earth''s crust,
information regarding its toxicity remains scarce. It is known that in certain cases,
aluminum is neurotoxic, but its effect in other tissues is unknown. The aim of this
work was to analyze the genotoxic potential of aluminum sulfate in kidney tissue of
the fish Rhamdia quelen after trophic contamination for 60 days.
Sixty four fish were subdivided into the following groups: negative control, 5 mg, 50
mg and 500 mg of aluminum sulfate per kg of fish. Samples of the posterior kidney
were taken and prepared to obtain mitotic metaphase, as well as the comet assay. The
three types of chromosomal abnormalities (CA) found were categorized as chromatid
breaks, decondensation of telomeric region, and early separation of sister
chromatids. The tests for CA showed that the 5 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg doses of aluminum
sulfate had genotoxic potential. Under these treatments, early separation of the
sister chromatids was observed more frequently and decondensation of the telomeric
region tended to increase in frequency. We suggest that structural changes in the
proteins involved in DNA compaction may have led to the decondensation of the
telomeric region, making the DNA susceptible to breaks. Moreover, early separation of
the sister chromatids may have occurred due to changes in the mobility of chromosomes
or proteins that keep the sister chromatids together. The comet assay confirmed the
genotoxicity of aluminum sulfate in the kidney tissue of Rhamdia
quelen at the three doses of exposure. |
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Keywords: | fish metal contamination chromosomal abnormalities comet assay |
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