Determination of heavy metal accumulation levels and genetic damage in Microtus Guentheri samples living in localities with different pollution potentials

The aim of this study was to carry out genetic damage degree in blood lymphocytes and heavy metal accumulation in Levant voles (Microtus guentheri) inhabiting the close sites stone quarry and mining activities and a clean control site in Korkuteli-Antalya, Turkey. Thirteen heavy metals (Fe, Al, Zn, Cu, Cr, Mn, Ni, B, Pb, As, Co Cd, and Hg) were investigated from skin with fur, bone, muscle, liver and kidney of Microtus guentheri (M. guentheri) specimens, which inhiting selected localities (localities 1-5=polluted localities and control=clean locality) in Korkuteli-Antalya in spring, summer, autmn (2017) and.winter (2018) seasons. On the other hand, another aim of this study was determining the potential of Levant voles (M. guentheri) as a biomonitor species of pollution with genetic damage in Comet assay and the relationship between heavy metal accumulation and genetic damage. In this study, individuals were caught in 6 localities. Five different sites were chosen as polluted sites and one site was chosen as control clean site and then M. guentheri specimens (for each localities at least five specimens were collected) were caught by Sherman traps as alive in spring, summer and autumn (2017) seasons. In winter season (2018) only 5 specimens were collected from two localities (4 individuals from locality 4 and 1 individual from control locality). After collection of specimens, blood samples were taken with the aim of isolation blood lymhopcytes for evaluating genetic damage analyses by Comet Assay. And then, skin with fur, bone, muscle, liver and kidney tissues and organs were removed by dissection from the captured specimens and weighted tissue and organ samples were analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS) for heavy metal accumulation. For statistical analyses descriptive parameters were calculated (mean, standard error) and carried out ANOVA for genetic damage of blood lymphocytes and heavy metals accumulation concentrations for all localities. Besides, it was determined whether there was any difference between the samples captured from the localities in terms of genetic damage levels of blood lymphocytes and heavy metal accumulation in skin with fur, bone, muscle, liver and kidney tissue and organs. On the other hand, seasonal and tissue and organ differences were evaluated by canonical discriminant analyse in terms of heavy metal accumulation. Results revealed that while in spring and summer seasons genetic damage of blood lymphocytes of all polluted localities (localities1-5) are significantly higher than control, in autumn season three sites (localities 3-5) are higher than control in terms of percentage tail DNA. Our results showed that while Fe, Al, Zn, Ni, Mn, Cr, Co, As and Pb primarly deposits in the skin with fur tissues,Cu and Cd deposits in the kidney, Cu, Cd and B deposits in liver. On the other hand, As and Pb deposition were detected in bone tissue of M. guentheri. In terms of all determined heavy metal accumulations, according to results of Canonical discriminant analyse it was found that the kidney organ and bone tissue are similar to each other, the liver organ and muscle tissue are similar to each other, and the skinkeratin tissue is significantly different from all tissues and organs. In terms of all determined heavy metal accumulations, according to results of Canonical discriminant Spring and Summer seasons are close to each other and fall season is different from these two seasons in terms of all determined heavy metal accumulations. This study is the one of the first record of detecting the genotoxic effects in blood lymphocytes of M. guentheri and heavy metal accumulation in different tissue and organs of small rodent species, namely M. guentheri which serve a biomonitoring model for ecotoxicological studies. According to results, the heavy metal pollution (in terms of Fe, Cu, Zn, Ni, Mn, Cr, Pb, As ve Co) from mines (etc. stone and marble) began at Korkuteli, Antalya.