GENOTOXIC EFFECTS OF PYRETHROID PESTICIDES IN AQUATIC ORGANISMS: MECHANISMS AND ECOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES
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Abstract
Pyrethroid pesticides are widely used in agriculture for the control of pests, but their long persistence in the environment and their presence in freshwater can have severe genotoxic effects on non-target aquatic species. The genotoxic effects of Lambda-cyhalothrin were assessed in the freshwater fish Cyprinus carpio, focusing on the time- and tissue-specific responses and their potential ecological implications. Fishes were exposed to a sublethal concentration of lambda-cyhalothrin (0.2 µg/L) which is considered 1/8th of the 96h LC50 and genotoxic effects were evaluated after 1, 5, 10, 15 and 20 days of exposure. DNA damage was determined in blood, gill and liver cells using the comet assay by assessing DNA-damaged cell percentage, comet damage classes and the Genetic Damage Index (GDI), and chromosomal damage was determined by assessing the micronucleus frequency in erythrocytes. The results showed a time-trend genotoxicity with maximum detection of genotoxic cells and genotoxic index around Day 15 and a moderate decrease for Day 20. There was differential tissue susceptibility, with Gill having the highest levels of DNA damage followed by liver and blood. The other micronucleus responses confirmed the chromosome damaging effect of lambda-cyhalothrin. The simultaneous occurrence of comet and micronucleus endpoints suggest that sublethal exposure to pyrethroids can lead to both primary DNA damage and chronic chromosomal damage. The results underscore the environmental relevance of chronic pyrethroid exposure and indicate the need for implementing genotoxic sensitive biomarkers in freshwater pesticide monitoring and ecological risk assessment.
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