The effects of sewage treatment plant effluents on hepatic and intestinal biomarkers in common carp (Cyprinus carpio)

Abstract

Sewage treatment plants (STPs) are one of the major source of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the aquatic environment. Generally, the effects of individual chemicals on fish are studied under laboratory conditions, which leads to results that are potentially not realistic regarding the effects of these chemicals under environmental conditions. Therefore, in this study, common carps were held in exposed pond that receive water from STP effluents for 360 days under natural conditions. Elimination of xenobiotics starts in the fish intestine, in which the microbial community strongly influences its function. Moreover, the fish intestine functions as crucial organ for absorbing lipids and fatty acids (FA), with consequent transport to the liver where their metabolism occurs. The liver is the primary organ performing xenobiotic metabolism in fish, and therefore, the presence of pollutants may interact with the metabolism of FA. The catalytic activity of CYP1A and CYP3A-like enzymes, their gene expression, FA composition and intestinal microbiome consortia were measured. The catalytic activity of enzymes and their gene and protein expression, were induced in hepatic and intestinal tissues of fish from the exposed pond. Also, fish from the exposed pond had different compositions of FA than those from the control pond: concentration of 18: 1 n-9 and 18: 2 n-6 were significantly elevated and the longer chain n-3 FA 20: 5 n-3, 22: 5 n-3 and 22: 6 n-3 were significantly lowered. There were clear differences among microbiome consortia in fish intestines across control and exposed groups. Microbiome taxa measured in exposed fish were also associated with those found in STP activated sludge. This study reveals that treated STP water, which is assumed to be clean, affected measured biomarkers in common carp. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords

CYP1A; CYP3A; Gene expression; Lipids; Fatty acids; Microbiome

Published in

Science of the Total Environment
2018, Volume: 635, pages: 1160-1169
Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

SLU Authors

• Zamaratskaia, Galia

  • Department of Molecular Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice

• Sampels, Sabine

  • Department of Molecular Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG3 Good health and well-being
SDG6 Clean water and sanitation
SDG12 Responsible consumption and production
SDG14 Life below water


UKÄ Subject classification

Environmental Sciences
Fish and Aquacultural Science


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.188

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/95971