Effects of lead on the growth and delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase activity of juvenile rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss

摘要

Activity of delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALA-D) in blood and organs is a biomarker of lead (Pb) contamination in fish. Because current methods cannot measure the bioavailability of Pb, this biomarker may predict exposure more accurately than analysis of Pb concentrations in water. Juvenile fish are generally more sensitive to Pb than adult fish, but due to their small size, analysis of ALA-D in blood and individual organs is difficult. By modifying the erythrocyte ALA-D procedure, we developed a method to measure ALA-D activity on the supernatant from the tissue homogenate of whole fish (juvenile rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss). Significant decreases in the activity of ALA-D in rainbow trout were observed after a 29-day exposure to 121 and 201 mu g Pb liter(-1), but not after exposure to 29 or 48 mu g Pb liter(-1). Pb also significantly reduced growth in fish exposed to 201 mu g Pb liter(-1). (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. References: 24