Combined use of biochemical indicators to assess sublethal pollution effects on the Gulf killifish (Fundulus grandis)

Sublethal biochemical markers were used to identify liver enzyme induction in fish from a bayou in Pensacola, Florida. Gulf killifish,Fundulus grandis, from, a nonpolluted site were used in the study which included laboratory-induced fish and their various controls as well as the fish captured in the bayou. The biochemical markers tested were total content of cytochrome P-450, aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase and ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase activities, and the specific induction of the LM_4bisozyme of the cytochrome P-450 system. The findings suggest that enzyme induction occurred at a sublethal level, indicating the presence of liver cytochrome P-450-inducing substances in the bayou.