Volume 18, Number 1, 69-74, DOI: 10.1007/s10646-008-0258-1

Geostatistical analysis of DNA damage in oysters, Crassostrea virginica, in Lavaca Bay, Texas

Wesley Bissett, Lauren Smith and James A. Thompson

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Abstract

This study evaluated the health of the marine ecosystem in Lavaca Bay, Texas using the Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) as the sentinel species. Lavaca Bay has a history of having gradients of concentrations of pollutants present with some areas containing concentrations high enough to pose a threat to marine ecosystem health. The Comet assay was used to evaluate for the presence of genotoxic response in oyster hematocytes. Bayesian geostatistical analysis was then used to determine if the DNA damage in oyster hematocytes was spatially oriented and to develop continuous surface maps of the risk of DNA damage in this sentinel species. Results indicated that proximity to industrial facilities increased the locational risk of genotoxicity in this species.

Keywords  Spatially oriented genotoxic response - Genotoxicity - DNA damage

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