Short communication: Cadmium bioconcentration and genotoxicity in the common carp (Cyprinus carpio)

Heavy metals in the aquatic environment pose high ecotoxicological risk to fish. Cadmium is one of the most abundant pollutants in freshwater bodies in Argentina. An evaluation was performed of the responses of several exposure biomarkers of juvenile Cyprinus carpio exposed during five days to sublethal cadmium (0.5 mgL−1) and cyclophosphamide (5 mgL−1). The assessment involved evaluating the impact of exposures on the following parameters of fish: Condition Factor (CF), Hepatosomatic Index (HSI), tissue accumulation (brain, muscle, gills, liver and blood) and erythrocyte micronuclei (MN) frequency. Compared with controls CF showed no significant changes and HSI registered a declining tendency. The metal accumulated mainly in the gills and to a lesser proportion in the liver and blood; in the brain and muscles, the quantities determined were no different from those found in the controls. MN frequency in erythrocytes increased significantly among fish exposed both to cadmium and to cyclophosphamide.