The Genetic Variability (RAPD) and Genotoxicity In Vivo (Alkaline and Fpg-Modified Comet Assay) in Chub (Squalius cephalus): The Sava River Case Study

The major objective of this study was to investigate the impact of wastewaters on the level of genotoxicity and the possible reflection of genotoxicity on the genetic variability in chub (Squalius cephalus) collected from the sites under different pollution pressures along the Sava River. To emphasize the impact of wastewaters, this study was carried out in a season with low water discharge. The level of genotoxic potential at the sites was studied by alkaline and Fpg-modified comet assay in fish blood, while RAPD technique was employed on the fish muscle tissue. The variations in the genotoxic potential were observed along the Sava River based on the level of DNA damage in blood of the specimens collected at the selected sites. Clustering of the impacted sites was also observed based on RAPD fingerprints. Comparison of the data obtained in RAPD and the data from the comet assay indicated the possible reflection of genotoxicity on the genetic variability in chub collected from the sites with different pollution pressure. This is a preliminary study which reports the differentiation of the population of chub along the Sava River based on RAPD analysis. [GRAPHICS]