Columba livia as a Sentinel Species for the Assessment of Urban Air Genotoxicity |
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Authors: | Matteo Sicolo Maria Tringali Pietro Fumagalli Angela Santagostino |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Milan–Bicocca, 20126 Milan, Italy |
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Abstract: | This study explored the comet assay as a possible tool to assess genotoxicity in erythrocytes of Columba livia to detect genotoxic effects induced by exposure to urban air pollution. Fieldwork was conducted between June 2004 and June
2005 in the city of Milan, Italy, by sampling pigeons in different areas almost twice a week. Six air contaminants—CO, PM10,
NO2, O3 (ozone), SO2, and C6H6—plus polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in fine particles, temperature, and ultraviolet index, were considered.
Genotoxicity levels, expressed as %DNA migrated, tail moment, and damage index (DI), were always higher in wild pigeons than
in pigeons living indoors (controls). Animals exposed to urban air showed significant differences from season to season, and
the genotoxic parameters presented the highest values in summer (45.30% ± 1.40% %DNA migrated, 12.73 ± 0.80 tail moment, and
22.30 ± 0.15 × DI × 10−1); regression analyses showed a positive relation between DI and O3 concentrations (P < 0.001). The use of the comet assay DI parameter as a rapid assessment of incipient genotoxic risk by pollution, as measured
in C. livia living in urban areas, is also discussed. |
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