Effects of heavy metal ions (Cu2+, Pb2+ and Cd2+) on DNA damage of the gills, hemocytes and hepatopancreas of marine crab, Charybdis japonica

There are rising concerns about the hazardous effects of heavy metals on the environment. In this study, comet assay and DNA alkaline unwinding assay were conducted on the tissues (gills, hepatopancreas, and hemocytes) of Charybdis japonica in order to illustrate genotoxicity of three heavy metal ions (Cu²⁺, Pb²⁺, and Cd²⁺) on the marine crabs C. japonica. The crabs were exposed to Cu²⁺ (10, 50, and 100 μg.L⁻¹), Pb²⁺ (50, 250, and 500 μg L⁻¹) and Cd²⁺ (5, 25, and 50 μg L⁻¹), and the tissues were sampled at days 0.5, 1, 3, 6, 9, and 15. DNA alkaline unwinding assay was used for testing the DNA single strand break in gills and hepatopancreas and comet assay was employed for testing the DNA damage in hemocytes. The results showed that the DNA damage (F-value) of gills in the crabs exposed to the three heavy metals was decreased gradually during the exposure periods and there was a dose-time response relationship in certain time, suggesting that the levels of DNA single strand break in all the experimental groups increased significantly compared to the controls. Changes of F-value in hepatopancreas of the crabs exposed to the three heavy metals were similar to those in gills except that the peak values were found in the 500 μg L⁻¹ Pb²⁺ treatment group at day 3 and the 50 μg L⁻¹ Cd²⁺ treatment group at day 9. The ranks of DNA damage in gills and hepatopancreas induced by the three heavy metal ions (50 μg L⁻¹, day 15) were Cd²⁺ >Pb²⁺ >Cu²⁺ and Pb²⁺ >Cu²⁺ >Cd²⁺. The levels of DNA damage in gills were higher than those in hepatopancreas in the same experimental group. It can be concluded that indices of DNA damage can be used as the potential biomarkers of heavy metal pollution in marine environment.