Habitat differences affect the nuclear morphology of the erythrocytes and the hepatic melanin in Leptodactylus fuscus (Anura) in the Brazilian Cerrado savanna

Author(s)

Assis, Rhayane Alves ^{[1, 2]} ; Rezende, Wadson Rodrigues ^[2] ; dos Santos, Cirley Gomes Araujo ^[1] ; Benvindo-Souza, Marcelino ^{[1, 3]} ; Amorim, Nathan Pereira Lima ^[1] ; Borges, Rinneu Elias ; Franco-Belussi, Lilian ^{[2, 4, 5]} ; De Oliveira, Classius ^[2] ; de Souza Santos, Lia Raquel ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Goiano Fed Inst, Lab Ecotoxicol & Anim Systemat EcotoxSA, BR-75901970 Rio Verde, Go - Brazil

^[2] Paulista State Univ Julio de Mesquita Filho, Dept Biol, BR-15054000 Sao Jose Do Rio Preto, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Fed Goias, Inst Biol Sci, Mutagenesis Lab, Goiania, Go - Brazil

^[4] Univ Rio Verde, BR-75901970 Rio Verde, Go - Brazil

^[5] Univ Fed Mato Grosso do Sul, Inst Biosci, BR-79002970 Campo Grande, MS - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Environmental Science and Pollution Research; v. 28, n. 43, p. 60741-60752, NOV 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 1

Abstract

The sensitivity of anuran to the effects of habitat destruction and contamination has led to a preoccupying global decline in their populations. Morphological biomarkers such as micronuclei and other erythrocyte nuclear abnormalities (ENAs), as well as the occurrence of hepatic melanin, can be used to evaluate the effects of habitat impacts. In the present study, these two parameters were combined for the in situ assessment of the effects of soybean cultivation on the grassfrog, Leptodactylus fuscus. Specimens were also collected from a protected area to provide a reference site (non-agricultural environment). The frequency of some of the nuclear abnormalities in the animals from the soybean plantation was much higher than that recorded at the reference site, in particular micronuclei, which were 3.6 times more frequent in the plantation, lobulated nuclei (3.4 times more frequent), and reniform nuclei, which were four times more common than at the reference site. The combined analysis of all the ENAs together also revealed a frequency approximately 1.4 times higher in the animals from the soybean plantation, in comparison with the protected area. Smaller areas of hepatic melanin were observed in the specimens from the soybean plantation. These results provide further evidence of the sensitivity of anurans to habitat impacts and indicate that animals found in soybean plantations are susceptible to systematic alterations of their cells. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/01078-7 - The liver of anuran amphibians: morphology compared between 10 species and action of benzopyrene in the melanomacrophages of Physalaemus cuvieri
• Grantee: Classius de Oliveira
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants