Early genotoxic effects in gill cells and haemocytes of Dreissena polymorpha exposed to cadmium, B[a]P and a combination of B[a]P and Cd

The aim of this study was to assess the genotoxic potential of environmentally relevant concentrations of Cd on the zebra mussel, an important freshwater sentinel organism, and to determine the stability of DNA damage in gill cells and haemocytes. The oxidative DNA damage and the co-genotoxicity of Cd in combination with B[a]P were investigated. We measured DNA damage in haemocytes and gill cells of zebra mussels exposed for 11 days to a constant concentration of Cd (10 μg/L), B[a]P (10 μg/L) or the two combined chemicals (10 μg/L + 1 μg/L). Enzymatic dissociation of gills with dispase gave the lower percentage DNA in tail, compared with collagenase/dispase or collagenase. Bioaccumulation of cadmium in the soft tissues of mussels exposed to CdCl2 or CdCl2 + B[a]P increased in a time-dependent manner indicating that both exposures were effective. Cd (10 μg/L) is genotoxic only during the first 3 days of exposure in gill cells, while in haemocytes the genotoxicity of Cd was observed later. B[a]P (10 μg/L) induced an early increase of DNA damage in gill cells (after 10 h and 1 day), while in both gill cells and haemocytes, B[a]P caused a marked increase of DNA damage after 3 days of exposure. The Cd + B[a]P mixture decreased the DNA-damaging effect of Cd and B[a]P in both cell types. Cd induced an increase of DNA damage in Fpg-treated slides, indicating that Cd contributed to oxidative DNA damage. Cadmium induced a cytogenetic effect in gill cells, assessed by the number of micronuclei, throughout the duration of the exposure, while B[a]P did not induce any cytogenetic effect. B[a]P, Cd and Cd + B[a]P induced a transient increase in the number of bi-nucleated cells. Our data clearly show that gills are more sensitive to Cd and B[a]P, which makes them more suitable for future bio-monitoring studies.