Determination of the perflorooctane sulfonate-induced genotoxic response in Mytilus galloprovincialis using a micronucleus assay

Perfluorinated compounds constitute one of the principal sources of pollution and pose great risk to the aquatic ecosystem. Perflorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is one of the most common and well-known emerging chemicals since it is widely used and is present in surface water and sediments. Previous studies reported toxic effects of perflorooctane sulfonate on marine organisms. However, there is a scarcity of studies on genotoxic effects of PFOS. This study was undertaken to investigate DNA damage in haemocytes and gill cells of Mytilus galloprovincialis exposed to PFOS using a micronucleus assay (MN). The experiment, which was carried out using increasing concentrations of PFOS (2–6 mg/L), revealed that at the concentration of 4 mg/L, PFOS causes increased genotoxic damage. In summary, results of this study show that the micronucleus test is a reliable tool for the determination of PFOS genotoxicity. © 2017 Nature Research Centre