In vivo comet assay on flounder and clam exposed to BaP and TBT

Abstract

The comet assay, also called single-cell electrophoresis (SCGE) assay, is a potential sensitive monitoring tool for DNA damage in cells. The primary objective of this study was to use comet assay to ascertain if the blood cells of flounder (Pleuronichthys olivaceus) and muscle cells of clam (Saxidomus purpurata) are suitable for genotoxicity screening. This was achieved by initially exposing blood and muscle cells under in vitro conditions to the reference genotoxin hydrogen peroxide (H 2O 2); strong correlation between H 2O 2 concentration and comet values were found. Subsequently, the identification of DNA damage in isolated cells from flounder and clam was performed under in vivo exposure to benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) and tributyltin (TBT). Flounder and clam were exposed to different concentrations (1, 10, 50, 100 μg/L) of BaP or TBT for 4 days. Regardless of treated chemicals, blood cells of flounder were more prone to DNA breakage compared to muscle cells of clam. In conclusion, in vivo genotoxicity of BaP and TBT can be biomonitored using the comet assay. This study suggests that flounder and clam do show potential as mediums for monitoring genotoxic damage by comet assay.