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3D - Exposure and effects of environmental contaminants in marine organisms (TU7/7) Sediment-associated genotoxicity of field-collected sediments from Cork Harbour. Kilemade, Michael1, Hartl, Mark1, Sheehan, David1, O'Brien, Nora1, van Pelt, Frank1, O' Halloran, John1, Mothersill, Carmel2, 1 University College Cork, Cork, Munster, Ireland2 Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin, Leinster, Ireland ABSTRACT- Sediments in the marine environment have become an area of concern due to their potential to accumulate toxic compounds and consequently acting as secondary pollutant sources to benthic fauna. The recent expansion in population size, urbanisation and industrialisation within Cork Harbour has resulted in a concomitant throughput of a myriad of pollutants, many of which are of a genotoxic nature. The aim of this study was to determine if sediment originating from Cork Harbour had the potential to induce DNA instability in juvenile turbot Scophthalmus maximus, a fish whose predominantly benthic lifestyle made it the ideal species for studying sediment-water-organism interactions. Sediment was sampled from two sites within Cork Harbour; Whitegate and Aghada which were previously shown to have elevated levels of chlorinated organic compounds and from a relatively unpolluted reference site, Ballymacoda, Co. Cork. The top 1-2 cm of sediment was collected from each site, mixed, aerated and applied in approx. 5 cm layers to duplicate 500 litre tanks containing seawater. Acclimated turbot (n=60) were added to each tank and exposed for 21 days. Fish were sampled and sacrificed at 0, 7, 14 and 21 days. The Comet Assay, for analysis of DNA single strand breaks was performed on gill, spleen, liver and whole blood cell preparations. Results indicated that turbot exposed to sediments from the Cork Harbour sites displayed an increase in DNA damage in comparison to those exposed to sediment from Ballymacoda, the reference site. Key words: sediment, harbour, turbot, genotoxicity |
