Genotoxic biomarkers as indicators of marine pollution

Abstract

The marine environment is the recipient of a wide range of pollutants including sewage, heavy metals, nanoparticles, petroleum hydrocarbons, and radiation which will ultimately affect the natural populations of aquatic organisms. These pollutants affect the integrity of the genome and lead to DNA damage. Genotoxicity tests such as the micronucleus test and comet assay are sensitive, reliable, and powerful techniques which are employed to assess the DNA damage. These tests can be designed on a wide variety of cells from any marine organism and can be performed either in the field or in the laboratory. The micronucleus test and comet assay can also be used as biomarkers along with other biochemical tests to evaluate the toxicity status of a particular marine water body. This review explores the use of these tests in different organisms under varying degrees of marine pollution. Further, it is recommended to use these two parameters together in order to confirm the holistic mutagenic/genotoxic effect of the test agents.