Research
Research
Faculty Research
David Page
Research Projects
We will continue student projects that develop the use of bioassays based on the marine mussel as a sentinel organism to screen for potential exposure to toxic substances in the field. I want to compare the results of 2 bioassay methods: (1) the photoluminescent bacteria-based Microtox™ bioassay. (2) the comet assay that measures pollutant-induced DNA damage. In the Microtox™ bioassay . the toxicity of chemical compounds absorbed by mussels collected from field sites can be measured in tissue homogenates by the degree of light output inhibition in the bacteria. In the comet bioassay, the extent of DNA strand breakage in hemocytes collected from the adductor muscle of the marine mussels is measured by alkaline electrophoresis. The goal of the project is to provide readily performed toxicity screening tools that can complement tissue chemistry-based monitoring programs, such as the Gulf of Maine Council “Gulfwatch” Program that has periodically sampled mussels at 56 US and Canada Gulf of Maine sites as a long-term monitor of environmental quality. This program analyzes for a suite of organic and heavy metal pollutants , including PAH, PCB’s, Pesticides, Hg, Pb, Cd and Ag. The availability of bioassay “effects” data would allow a more rational interpretation of the mussel tissue chemistry data and the possible identification of stressors not analyzed for in the “Gulfwatch” study design.