Structural alterations in Gills, Liver and Ovaries of Tilapia Fish (Saratherodon galilaeus) as a Biomarker for Environmental Pollution in Ismalia Canal

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, King Abd EL-Aziz University, Jeddah, K.S.A

2 National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Cairo, Egypt

3 Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Benha University, Benha, Egypt

Abstract

The present work studied the histological changes in gills, liver and ovaries of Tilapia fish (Saratherodon galilaeus) subjected to disturbed urban stream (sewage and industrial contamination) of two sites (EL-aakada and EL-amerya) on Ismailia Canal during summer season. The most common lesions in gills were epithelial lifting, hyperplasia and hypertrophy of the respiratory epithelium, and lamellar fusion. Liver hepatocytes showed hypertrophied, cytoplasmic and nuclear degeneration, inflammatory cells aggregates and focal areas of necrosis. The ovary showed widened vitellogenic space filled with huge debris, the oogonial cells and immature oocytes were in the process of degeneration particularly at the ooplasmic level. The most sever lesions were comparatively in the liver. It is concluded that histopathology can used as a biomarker for study the effect of pollutants in organs of fish.

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