Genomic Biomarker Approaches in Environmental Monitoring Processes -A Review

摘要

Sufficient knowledge on the effects of pollutants at different levels of biological organization in an aquatic environment is needed for the reliable environmental risk assessment of pollutants, or hazard identification of environmental contaminants/pollutants. Biochemical biomarkers have been considered as the most promising tool for monitoring the early damages caused by pollutants to aquatic organisms, either at acute or sub-acute levels. These biomarkers of early chemical exposure can aid in avoiding further chemical exposure and those specific biomarkers may help to minimize further damage to the environment. In addition to assessing the presence or absence of an exposure or effect, ability to quantify the exposure and dose-response in some way would be useful for risk assessment. New approaches are needed for environmental risk assessment to catch up with the backlog of contaminants and keep pace with the increasing surge of new potential risks. These biomarkers provide us the confidence of accurate prediction to employ suitable prevention processes. Thus, it can be considered as an ounce of pollution prevention that can be worth a pound of waste treatment. An attempt has been made in this review to describe the importance of biomarker research and exploring the possibility of employing suitable new molecular approaches to protect and preserve the health of the environment.