Physiological perturbations in gills and liver of Siganus canaliculatus as potential biomarkers of hydrocarbons pollution in Arabian Gulf of Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the state of health of gills and liver tissues of Rabbitfish, Siganus canaliculatus, inhabiting three different coastal localities in the Saudi coast of the Arabian Gulf, namely Al-Dammam, Dareen and Maniefa, with varying degrees of pollution affected by anthropogenic inputs including fractionated hydrocarbons. Al-Dammam coast was the less impacted site, and thus considered as a reference location. High concentrations of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons were detected in sediments and tissues at sites with anthropogenic activities (Dareen and Maniefa). Also, biochemical indicators were used to assess the impact of different levels of environmental pollution in gills and liver of the fish. The biomarkers: glycogen, total lipid, total protein, alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase, acetylcholinesterase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and reduced glutathione were found to be significantly lower in tissues of Rabbitfish caught from polluted locations compared to the reference values. However, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, catalase, glutathione-s-transferase and lipid peroxidation displayed significantly higher levels in the Rabbitfish caught from polluted locations. Overall, our results highlight the importance of estimating a set of related biomarkers to gain a preferable comprehend of protective mechanisms activated under a given environmental situation. It can be concluded that marine contamination can affect the antioxidant defense status of the gills and liver of studied fish. This has led to the suggestion that the marine Rabbitfish S. canaliculatus could be considered as a good bioindicator of environmental contamination by aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons.