PARENT SESSION

2L - Immunotoxicity - genotoxicity - ED
Poster Hall
8:30 AM - Wednesday, 30 April 2003
Chair: Hansen, P.D.¹, ¹

(WEP/100) DNA damage and excision repair mechanisms in fluoranthene-exposed Capitella sp. I.

Palmqvist, Annemette¹, Forbes, Valery E.¹, Rasmussen, Lene Juel¹, ¹ Roskilde University, Roskilde, Denmark

ABSTRACT- In an earlier study we found that the polychaete Capitella sp. I extensively biotransforms the PAH fluoranthene (Flu), and that the resulting aqueous metabolites cause damage to DNA. We also found that the DNA damage in the worms was almost fully repaired within 4 days, despite continued exposure to Flu. This was explained by the presence of one or more inducible DNA repair mechanism(s). However, from that study it was not possible to determine the type of repair mechanism(s) involved. In the present study we constructed a cDNA library from Capitella sp. I and cloned excision repair genes from the polychaete to further examine the regulation of DNA repair mechanisms during exposure to PAHs. To determine the primary mode of action of the aqueous Flu-metabolites we also measured the formation of oxidized nucleotides caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS), together with the Flu-DNA adduct level measured by the ³²P-postlabelling assay in Flu-exposed Capitella sp. I.

Key words: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, polychaete, DNA damage, excision repair