Biochemical markers of aquatic environment contamination—cytochrome P450 in fish

The paper reviews the most recent data on the role of cytochrome P450 as a biochemical marker of aquatic environment pollution. The important chemical characteristics of cytochrome P450, classification of its isoforms, its functions and involvement in the metabolism of endogenous and xenobiotic agents are described as well as methods for assessment of cytochrome P450 in biological materials. The main attention is paid to the CYP 1A isoform whose detection in fish is used in toxicological monitoring of ecosystems. Monooxygenase, EROD, pesticide, PCB, TCDD The fish, as a bioindicator species, plays an increasingly important role in the monitoring of water pollution because it responds with great sensitivity to changes in the aquatic environment. The sudden death of fish indicate heavy pollution; the effects of exposure to sublethal levels of pollutants can be measured in terms of biochemical, physiological or histological responses of the fish organism (Mondon at al. 2001). Changes in age and species distribution in a stock fish population are general indicators of water pollution, but there are also responses specific to a single pollutant or a group of contaminants (Svobodová 1997). Biochemical markers are biochemical responses induced in th