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Abstract
The ecotoxicological effects of a textile mill effluent were investigated by caging tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in the Volta River, Ghana, andby exposing mudfish (Clarias anguillaris) to sediment collected from the same river. Tilapia were caged for 3 weeks at three locations (0.6, 4, and8 km) downstream from the effluent outlet. Mudfish were exposed in the laboratory for 2 weeks to sediment collected from the vicinity of the effluent outlet and8 km downstream. Upstream reference locations 2 km (tilapia) and10.2 km (mudfish) were included. Liver cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) monooxygenase activity (measured as activity of 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase, EROD, andCYP1A protein level) andtwo conjugation enzymes, UDP-glucuronosyl transferase (UDP-GT) andglutathione Stransferase (GST), were analysed. A distance-related decrease in EROD activity andCYP1A protein level was observed. EROD activity was 21-fold higher in tilapia caged at the site nearest the effluent outlet and25-fold higher in mudfish exposed to sediment collected from the vicinity of the outlet, compared with the respective reference values. UDP-GT andGST levels increased significantly by 70 and27%, respectively, in tilapia while the respective levels in mudfish were 73 and28%, compared with reference values. The results clearly indicate that the textile mill effluent contains some highly potent inducers of biotransformation enzymes. This first assessment of the biological effects of organic pollutants in the Volta River demonstrates the utility of the CYP1A system as a valuable early warning biomarker of industrial effluents andalso as a biomarker to detect exposure of aquatic resources to environmental chemical contamination in tropical waters.