engleski

Toxic Effects in Fish and the Mutagenic Capacity of Water from the Sava River in Yugoslavia

Xenobiotics are known to cause enhancement of the activities of mixed function oxygenases (MFO) in the livers of exposed fish (for a review see: BEND & JAMES, 1978). This induction has been used both as a tool for the detection of the presence of xenobiotlcs in a body of water and as an early, badly needed sublethal biological indicator of a given concentration of a toxic substance (PAYNE & PENROSE 1975 AHOKAS et al. 1976 ~ KURELEC et al. 1977). Equally useful is the "induct-test", a method used in our laboratory recently, consisting of VP application of hexane extracts of water samples to young experimental carps and measurement of MFO as a response (KURELEC et al. 1980). The ultimate carcinogens formed by action of MFO have been shown definitlvelly to cause neoplasia in fish (STICH & ACTON 1976 ; MEARNS & SHERWOOD 1977 ; HARSHBARGER 1977). Fish, animals that are at the top of the food web, can consequently be used as indicator organisms in screening for carcinogens in water, when they are thus topically exposed. The use of a combination of MFO induction and the Salmonella test for the detection of mutagenic/carclnogenlc substances has been shown to be useful even as a tool {; ; ; :or detection of polluted sites in a water body (PAYNE 1976 ~ KURELEC et al. 1977 ~, 1979). In order to assess the Mologlcal effects of substances in the water of the Sava River, the llfe artery of Yugoslavia, where 8 million people llve and an important part of industry is located, we measured their early toxic effects - the induction of benzo(a)pyrene monooxygenase (BPMO) activity in natural fish population as well as thek late effects - the appearance of tumors in fish of the Sava River, the induction potential of Sava waters in experimental fish by "induct-test" and the mutagenlc capacity of Sava water extracts as recorded in a bacterial short-term test.

mixed function oxygenases; toxic effects; fish population; Sava river; tumors

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