Authors : Alaa G.M. Osman, Rana M. Al-Awadhi, Ahmed S.A. Harabawy and Usama M. Mahmoud
Abstract: Water pollution is one of the principal environmental and public health problems Egyptian river Nile are facing. The objective of this study was to investigate pollution induced changes in the protein electrophoresis of the African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) from El-Madapigh canal (one of the river Nile tributary at Assiut which receives quantities of sewages, industrial and agricultural effluents) and river Nile at Assiut for comparison. The present research recorded lower mean value of dissolved oxygen and higher mean values of turbidity, conductivity, alkalinity, chemical oxygen demand, nitrate, nitrite and trace metals in the water of El-Madapigh canal comparing to the Nile water. Orthophosphate and sulfide were detected only in the water of El-Madapigh canal. For all heavy metals (except Cu and Zn) the detected concentration in the tissues of Clarias gariepinus collected form El-Madapigh canal were higher than those collected from Nile water. This was expected due to the fact that the water of such canal receives large quantities of domestic, agricultural and industrial effluents. This heavy pollution in El-Madapigh canal also explains the presence of female fishes only in the water of this canal. The results of the present study revealed that both quantitative and qualitative differences in the banding pattern of serum and muscles proteins of the African catfish C. gariepinus collected from Nile water and El-Madapigh canal were recorded. A remarkable reduction in the number of protein bands was recorded in fishes collected form El-Madapigh canal comparing to those collected from the Nile water. Also, the present results recorded a remarkable increase in the intensity of α-Globulin, β-Globulin, γ-Globulin in the serum of fishes collected from El-Madapigh canal. The alteration in protein banding patterns and intensity observed in the present study may be attributed to the pollutant induced inhibition of protein synthesis. These results clearly show that protein electrophoreses is a sensitive tool for biomonitoring aquatic pollution.
Alaa G.M. Osman, Rana M. Al-Awadhi, Ahmed S.A. Harabawy and Usama M. Mahmoud, 2010. Evaluation of the Use of Protein Electrophoresis of the African Catfish Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) for Biomonitoring Aquatic Pollution. Environmental Research Journal, 4: 235-243.