Bioindication of Cardboard-Paper Mill Effluents Using Molecular Responses of Fish Carassius auratus and Bivalve Mollusk Unio tumidus

Özet

The effluents of cardboard-paper mill (CPM) industry belong to most abundant pollutants of surface water. The aim ofthis study was to elucidate the toxicity of effluents downstream the CPM by the bioindication. The specimens offish Carassius auratus (Cyprinidae) and mollusk Unio tumidus (Unionidae) from the suspected polluted area (SP) and pristinearea as control (C) were compared. The fish and mollusk from SP demonstrated plural signs of toxicity and stress: 2.5−3.7times higher levels of DNA fragmentation, nuclear abnormalities, lipid peroxidation products and lipofuscin (determined onlyin fish) in comparison with C-groups. The exposure to the certain xenobiotics was confirmed by the elevated by 2−3 timeslevels of metallothionein (response to toxic metals), CYP450-related activity and vitellogenin-like proteins (responses toendocrine disrupters, in particular, chlorinated organic substances). Cholinesterase activity in the brain of fish was the same inthe C- and SP-groups proving the low evidence of typical agricultural pollution. Chemical analysis of water confirmed thehighest level of pollution by phenols, chlorine, sulphate, nitrogen and organic compounds only directly downstream thewastewater treatment facilities of the CPM. These results prove the molecular bioindication to be the most valid approach toassess the toxicity of CPM effluents.