Biomarkers for pollution in caged mussels from three reservoirs in Bulgaria: A pilot study
Elenka Georgieva,
László Antal,
Stela Stoyanova,
Desislava Arnaudova,
Iliana Velcheva,
Ilia Iliev,
Tonka Vasileva,
Veselin Bivolarski,
Vesela Mitkovska,
Tsenka Chassovnikarova,
Borislava Todorova,
Ifeanyi Emmanuel Uzochukwu,
Krisztián Nyeste,
Vesela Yancheva
Affiliations
Elenka Georgieva
Department of Developmental Biology, Faculty of Biology, Plovdiv University, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
László Antal
Department of Hydrobiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
Stela Stoyanova
Department of Developmental Biology, Faculty of Biology, Plovdiv University, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Desislava Arnaudova
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Plovdiv University, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Iliana Velcheva
Department of Ecology and Environmental Conservation, Faculty of Biology, Plovdiv University, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Ilia Iliev
Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, Plovdiv University, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Tonka Vasileva
Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, Plovdiv University, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Veselin Bivolarski
Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, Plovdiv University, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Vesela Mitkovska
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Plovdiv University, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Tsenka Chassovnikarova
Department of Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Plovdiv University, Plovdiv, Bulgaria; Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria
Borislava Todorova
Department of Ecology and Environmental Conservation, Faculty of Biology, Plovdiv University, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Ifeanyi Emmanuel Uzochukwu
Department of Hydrobiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary; Pál Juhász-Nagy Doctoral School of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
Krisztián Nyeste
Department of Hydrobiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary; Corresponding author.
Vesela Yancheva
Department of Ecology and Environmental Conservation, Faculty of Biology, Plovdiv University, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
The mussel-watch concept was firstly proposed in 1975, which was later adopted by several international monitoring programs worldwide. However, for the very first time, a field experiment with caged mussels was performed in three reservoirs in Bulgaria to follow the harmful effects of sub-chronic pollution (30 days) of metals, trace, and macro-elements, as well as some organic toxicants, such as polybrominated diphenyl ethers and chlorinated paraffins. Therefore, we studied the biometric indices, histochemical lesions in the gills, biochemical changes in the digestive glands (antioxidant defense enzymes, such as catalase, glutathione reductase, and glutathione peroxidase; metabolic enzymes, such as lactate dehydrogenase, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase, and the neurotransmitter cholinesterase), in addition to the DNA damage in the Chinese pond mussel, Sinanodonta woodiana (Lea, 1834) in Kardzhali, Studen Kladenets and Zhrebchevo reservoirs in Bulgaria. Significant correlation trends between the pollution levels, which we reported before, and the biomarker responses were established in the current paper. Overall, we found that both tested organs were susceptible to pollution-induced oxidative stress. The different alterations in the selected biomarkers in the caged mussels compared to the reference group were linked to the different kinds and levels of water pollution in the reservoirs, and also to the simultaneously conducted bioaccumulation studies.
