Erythrocytes of the Rhesus and Cynomolgus Monkeys.

The monograph Erythrocytes of the Rhesus and Cynomolgus Monkeys is devoted to the cytologic, quantitative, generative normal and abnormal presentations of the erythrocytes in these two species of primates...

Anti-genotoxic ability of α-tocopherol and Anthocyanin to counteract fish DNA damage induced by musk xylene.

Many compounds released into the environment are able to interact with genetic material. The main purpose of genetic toxicology is to investigate the adverse effects of genotoxic molecules such as reduced fitness, changes in gene frequencies and their impact on genetic diversity in populations following genotoxic exposure. However, the ecological effects of many genotoxic compounds remain poorly understood.

Genotoxicity assessment of TiO2 nanoparticles in the teleost Danio rerio.

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs), widely used in paints, pharmaceutical preparations and in many consumer products, have been shown to induce cytotoxicity, genotoxicity and carcinogenic responses both in vitro and in vivo. Numerous studies have shown the potential impact of nanoparticles on a series of aquatic organisms and their toxicity has been linked to their dissolution, surface properties and size. In vitro studies have raised concerns about the toxicity of TiO2 NPs, but there are very limited data on ecotoxicity to aquatic life.

Polypteridae (Actinopterygii: Cladistia) and DANA-SINEs insertions.

SINE sequences are interspersed throughout virtually all eukaryotic genomes and greatly outnumber the other repetitive elements. These sequences are of increasing interest for phylogenetic studies because of their diagnostic power for establishing common ancestry among taxa, once properly characterized. We identified and characterized a peculiar family of composite tRNA-derived short interspersed SINEs, DANA-SINEs, associated with mutational activities in Danio rerio, in a group of species belonging to one of the most basal bony fish families, the Polypteridae, in order to investigate their own inner specific phylogenetic relationships.

Cytogenetic analysis in Polypterus ornatipinnis (Actinopterygii, Cladistia, Polypteridae) and 5S rDNA.

Polypteridae is a family of archaic freshwater African fish that constitute an interesting subject for the study of the karyological evolution in vertebrates, on account of their primitive morphological characters and peculiar relationships with lower Osteichthyans. In this paper, a cytogenetic analysis on twenty specimens of both sexes of Polypterus ornatipinnis the ornate "bichir", coming from the Congo River basin, was performed by using both classical and molecular techniques. The karyotypic formula (2n=36; FN=72) was composed of 26 M+10 SM.

Micronucleus test and comet assay for the evaluation of zebrafish genomic damage induced by erythromycin and lincomycin.

An enormous quantity of pharmacologically active principles are currently being introduced into the environment, with consequent escalation of environmental problems, but only a small number of studies are focusing on an assessment of their genotoxic effects. The aim of this article is to assess the genotoxic effects of erythromycin, lincomycin, and of a combination of these two antibiotics on the genome of the zebrafish. The genotoxicity of the two antibiotics was assessed by applying the micronucleus test to erythrocytes and performing a Comet assay on erythrocytes and hepatocytes.

Evaluation of zebrafish DNA integrity after exposure to pharmacological agents present in aquatic environments.

Over the past few years, the increasing and uncontrolled use of pharmaceutical substances in agriculture, fish farming, human health and in veterinary medicine, together with an improper use of out-of-date medicines, has led to a consequent increase in the environmental problems linked to their disposal. In some Italian waste water treatment plants were found furosemide, a diuretic; ranitidine, an antiulcer drug; bezafibrate, a lipid regulator and ibuprofen, a painkiller. The present paper shows, by means of the synergic application of three tests (the Comet Test, the Diffusion Assay and the RAPD-PCR technique), how the DNA of zebrafish can be damaged after exposure to the above mentioned drugs.

Genotoxic effects in fish induced by pharmacological agents present in the sewage of some Italian water-treatment plants.

The presence of pharmaceutical substances in the municipal effluents is currently considered the principal source of bio-active molecule emissions into aquatic environments. This study analyzes the genotoxic damage caused by gemfibrozil and atorvastatin, two regulators of the hematic level of lipids, and sildenafil citrate, a vasodilator, on the teleost Danio rerio. The genotoxicity of these three compounds was evaluated using the comet assay, diffusion assay, and RAPD-PCR.

Molecular characterization and chromosomal localization of spermatogenesis related sequences in Torpedo torpedo (Chondrichthyes, Torpediniformes).

Cytogenetic data in cartilaginous fishes are currently very inconsistent, considering that the karyotype morphology of only about seventy living species is actually known. Only in the last few years different molecular approaches, first of all physical mapping on metaphase chromosomes, have been used to investigate the cytotaxonomic relationship existing inside this interesting group of vertebrates. The aim of the work was to characterize new molecular chromosomal markers both to discriminate the different chromosome pairs and to distinguish the probable sex chromosomes in the species Torpedo torpedo, since its karyotype does not seem to exhibit heterochromosomes.

Karyotypic characterization and genomic organization of the 5S rDNA in Polypterus senegalus (Osteichthyes, Polypteridae).

Polypteridae (Cladistia) is a family of archaic fishes, confined to African freshwaters. On account of their primitiveness in anatomical and morphological characters and mosaic relationships among lower Osteichthyans fishes, they constitute an important subject for the study of evolution in vertebrates. Very little is known about the karyological structure of these species.

Karyotypic characterization and genomic organization of the 5S rDNA in Erpetoichthys calabaricus (Osteichthyes, Polypteridae).

Polypterids are a group of Osteichthyan fish whose evolutionary relationships with closer basal ray-finned and lobe-finned fish have been disputed since their discovery. Very little is known about the evolutive karyology in the whole Polypteriformes group. In order to fill this gap, a cytogenetic analysis of Erpetoichthys calabaricus species was performed, using both classical and molecular techniques.

Molecular and karyological aspects of Batoidea (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchi) phylogeny.

Although considerable progress has been made in elucidating the relationships within the Chondrichthyes, there is no agreement as it concerns the systematics of Batoidea, the most derived superorder among cartilaginous fishes, and many different interpretations exist. Our investigation provides the first assessment of relationships among the described batoid species using sequences from both mtDNA and nuclear genes as well as karyological morphology. Our work consists primarily in reconstructing the phylogenetic relationships of Batoidea by examining the mtDNA (16S) and nuclear gene (18S) sequences from 11 batoid species.

Assessment of environmental stress by the micronucleus test and the Comet assay on the genome of teleost populations from two natural environments.

The aim of the present paper was to assess the biological damage caused by exposure of the test organism (Gambusia holbrooki: Cyprinodontiformes, Poecilidae) to various mutagenic agents present in the polluted waters of the Sarno River. For this purpose, we performed a micronuclei (MN) test and single cell gel electrophoresis (the Comet assay), testing DNA migration in an electrophoretic field using erythrocytes of G. holbrooki specimens both from the Sarno River and from the waters of the crater of the Astroni natural reserve as negative controls.

Karyotype and genome characterization in four cartilaginous fishes.

Different approaches can be used to elucidate the unsolved questions concerning taxonomic evolution in cartilaginous fish. The study of the karyological characteristics of these vertebrates by combining molecular and traditional techniques of chromosome preparation and banding has been demonstrated to be a very effective method. In this paper we studied the localization and the composition of the constitutive heterochromatin by using C- and restriction endonuclease-banding in four selachian species, belonging to two of the four superorders.

Cytogenetic and molecular studies in a lungfish, Protopterus annectens (Osteichthyes, Dipnoi).

A neontological approach to the problem of the origin of tetrapods consists in the examination of the available cytological and molecular data on the genome of these vertebrates. Dipnoans are a group of osteichthyian fishes, the evolutionary relationships of which with tetrapods have been disputed since their discovery. In the past, they were variously considered as being related to actinistians, tetrapods, and lower actinopterygians, though nowadays they are considered a monophyletic group, the sister group of crossopterygians.