Integrated responses of Prochilodus lineatus to water soluble fraction of gasoline and identification of biomarkers for environmental monitoring

• Grant number: 09/08826-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: November 01, 2009
• End date: October 31, 2011
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Marisa Narciso Fernandes
• Grantee: Marisa Narciso Fernandes
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The soluble fraction of gasoline in water is a potential pollutant of aquatic environment due to aromatic hydrocarbonates. The main goals of the present study are to characterize the P. lineatus responses to exposure to soluble fraction of gasoline at several levels of biological organization and identify the relevant biomarkers for monitoring environments impacted by gasoline and other petroleum product spill and predict severe disturbs on fish community. P. lineatus is endemic in the South and Southeast of Brazil e has been considered as a potential bioindicator fish species due to high sensitivity to a large variety of pollutants in the aquatic environment. A gasoline spill will be simulated at laboratorial scale. Thereafter, acute (96h) and chronic (14 days) toxicity tests will be done using the soluble fraction of gasoline in water. The fish exposed to the soluble fraction of gasoline will be killed and samples of blood, gills and liver will be taken to evaluate several biomarkers: biochemical related to oxidative stress, endocrine and metabolites such as cortisol, glucose and lactate; physiological related to ionic regulation and Na+/K+-ATPase activity in the gills and morphological in the gills and liver, the main targets of most pollutants, at light and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. (AU)