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(W/MF134) Effects of chemical contaminants on genetic diversity and fitness traits in feral fish populations. Larno, Valérie1, Devaux, Alain1,2, Laroche, Jean3, Perrodin, Yves1, Danjean, Marc1, 1 2 3 ABSTRACT- Although the initial damages caused by chemical contaminants are at the molecular level, there are emergent effects at the level of populations, such as the loss of genetic diversity, that are not predictable based solely on knowledge of the mecanism of toxicity of these compounds. Therefore, evolutionary toxicology which takes into account the population-genetic effects of xenobiotics has to be considered as an important task in ecotoxicology. The aim of the present work was to assess the effects of chemical contaminants on genetic diversity of chub (Leuciscus cephalus) populations from low-or highly polluted small rivers. Microsatellites were studied both to evaluate the contribution of natural processes like gene flow in genetic diversity, as well as a fitness indicator by measuring the difference in the microsatellite number of repeats in alleles from heterozygous loci. Moreover the genotoxic effect of pollutants in terms of DNA strand break level, the fluctuating assymetry of pectoral finray number and the growth rate were measured in chub in conjunction with population genetic studies both to assess the fitness and to provide a convincing connection between contaminants effects at multiple levels of biological organization. Key words: chemical contaminants, genetic diversity, natural fish population, fitness |
