Eur. J. Entomol. 109 (4): 479-490, 2012 | DOI: 10.14411/eje.2012.061

Genomic alterations recorded in two species of Chironomidae (Diptera) in the Upper Jurassic limestone area of the Ojców National Park in Poland attributable to natural and anthropogenic factors

Paraskeva MICHAILOVA1, Ewa SZAREK-GWIAZDA2, Andrzej KOWNACKI2, Elżbieta WARCHAŁOWSKA-SLIWA3
1 Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 1 Tzar Osvoboditel boulv., Sofia, Bulgaria; e-mail: michailova@zoology.bas.bg
2 Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, al. Mickiewicza 33, Kraków, Poland ; e-mails: szarek@iop.krakow.pl; kownacki@iop.krakow.pl
3 Institute of Systematic and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Sáawkowska 17, Kraków, Poland ; e-mail: warchalowska@isez.pan.krakow.pl

The Ojców National Park is situated in southern Poland in an area of Jurassic limestone, which determines the hydrochemistry of the water in the River Prądnik. The geochemical index of the sediment in the River Prądnik indicated it is moderately polluted with Pb and Zn, and heavily polluted with Cd compared to unpolluted sediment. The effect of natural and anthropogenic sources on the sediment in the River Prądnik and in appearing of structural and functional alterations in the salivary gland chromosomes of two species of Chironomidae, Micropsectra pallidula and Polypedilum convictum, was investigated. Two types of chromosomal rearrangements (inherited and somatic) were identified in the species studied. Inherited heterozygous inversions occurred at a higher frequency (between 5.55%-57.81%) and may have local adaptive value. In M. pallidula a karyotype divergence consisting of fixed chromosome inversions on arms B and E was recorded. As somatic chromosome rearrangements can be caused by stress agents, we suggest that the somatic aberrations in both of the species studied indicate the existence of pollution, i.e. induced stress. On the basis of these somatic rearrangements the somatic index of both species was defined: M. pallidula - 0.346, P. convictum - 0.555. In addition to these rearrangements functional alterations in key structures, Balbiani rings (BRs) and the nucleolar organizer region (NOR) located on chromosome EF, which significantly decreased their transcriptional activity, were recorded in M. pallidula. Changes in the appearance of the telomere region on chromosome G in P. convictum was considered to be a response to the environmental conditions in the River Prądnik. It was shown that polytene chromosomes are very sensitive to environmental changes and can be used to detect pollutants in aquatic ecosystems.

Keywords: Diptera, Chironomidae, Micropsectra pallidula, Polypedilum convictum, anthropogenic, natural sources, genome alterations

Received: February 23, 2012; Revised: May 18, 2012; Accepted: May 18, 2012; Published: October 5, 2012  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
MICHAILOVA, P., SZAREK-GWIAZDA, E., KOWNACKI, A., & WARCHAŁOWSKA-SLIWA, E. (2012). Genomic alterations recorded in two species of Chironomidae (Diptera) in the Upper Jurassic limestone area of the Ojców National Park in Poland attributable to natural and anthropogenic factors. EJE, 109(4), 479-490. doi: 10.14411/eje.2012.061
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    References

    1. APHA 1992: Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater. American Public Health Association, Washington, 46 pp
    2. ARMITAGE P.D., CRANSTON P.S. & PINDER C.V. 1995: The Chironomidae: Biology and Ecology of Non-Biting Midges. Chapman and Hall, London, 537 pp Go to original source...
    3. AZIZ J., AKRAWI N. & NASSORI N. 1991: The effect of chronic toxicity of copper on the activity of Balbiani rings and nucleolar organizer region in the salivary gland chromosomes of Chironomus ninevah larvae. Environ. Pollut. 69: 125-130 Go to original source...
    4. BARSIENE J. & BUCINSKIENCE K. 2001: Cytogenetic damage in the tissues of indigenous and transferred molluscs. Acta Zool. Lituan. 11: 102-109 Go to original source...
    5. BEERMANN W. 1971: Effect of alfa-amanitine on puffing and intranuclear RNA synthesis in Chironomus salivary glands. Chromosoma 34: 152-167 Go to original source...
    6. BEERMANN W. 1973: Directed changes in the pattern of Balbiani ring puffing in Chironomus: effects of a sugar treatment. Chromosoma 41: 297-326 Go to original source...
    7. BENTIVEGNA C. & COOPER K. 1993: Reduced chromosomal puffing in Chironomus tentans as a biomarker for potentially genotoxic substances. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 12: 1001-1011 Go to original source...
    8. BRZEŹNIAK E. & PARTYKA J. 2008: Climatic condition of the Ojcow National Park. In Klasa A. & Partyka J. (eds): Monograph of the Ojcow National Park, Nature Ojcow. Ojcowski National Park, Ojcow, pp. 121-136 [in Polish with English abstr.]
    9. BUTLER M., KIKNADZE I., GOLYGINA V., MARTIN J., ISTOMINA A., WULKER W., SUBLETTE J. & SUBLETTE M. 1999: Cytogenetic differentiation between Palearctic and Nearctic populations of Chironomus plumosus L. (Diptera, Chironomidae). Genome 42: 797-815 Go to original source...
    10. CACERES M., BARBADILLA A. & RUIZ A. 1997: Inversion length and breakpoint distribution of the Drosophila buzzatii species complex: inversion length a selected trait? Evolution 51: 1149-1155 Go to original source...
    11. COOGAN T., BARE R. & WAALKES M. 1992: Cadmium-induced DNA strand damage in culture liver cells: reduction in cadmium genotoxicity following zinc pre-treatment. Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 113: 227-233 Go to original source...
    12. DIEZ J.L., CORTES E., MERIMO J. & SANTA CRUZ M. 1990: Galactose induced puffing changes in Chironomus thummi Balbiani rings and their dependence on protein synthesis. Chromosoma 99: 61-70 Go to original source...
    13. DOBZHANSKY T. 1970: Genetics of the Evolutionary Process. Columbia University Press, New York, 505 pp
    14. DRATNAL E. 1976: The benthic fauna of the Pradnik stream below on inlet of diary waste effluents. Arch. Ochr. Srodowiska 2: 235-270
    15. DRATNAL E. 1977: Benthic invertebrate communities of the Pradnik stream. Ochr. Przyr. 41: 281-321 [in Polish with English abstr]
    16. DUMNICKA E. & SZCZcSNY B. 2008: Aquatic and semiaquatic ivertebrates of the Ojcow National Park. In Klasa A. & Partyka J. (eds): Monograph of the Ojcow National Park, Nature Ojcow. Ojcowski National Park, Ojcow, pp. 659-672 [in Polish with English abstr.]
    17. FORSTNER U. 1986: Metal speciation in solid wastes - factors affecting mobility. In Landner W. (ed.): Speciation of Mmetals in Water, Sediment and Soil Systems. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, pp. 13-40
    18. FORSTNER U. & SALOMONS W. 1980: Trace metal analysis in polluted sediments. Environ. Techn. Lett. 1: 494-517 Go to original source...
    19. GALAS J. 2005: Human impact on physical and chemical properties of springs from Cracow-Czestochowa Upland (Southern Poland). Pol. J. Ecol. 53: 329-341
    20. GRADZINSKI M., GRADZINSKI R. & JACH R. 2008: Geology, morphology and karst of the Ojcow area. In Klasa A. & Partyka J. (eds): Monograph of the Ojcow National Park, Nature Ojcow. Ojcowski National Park, Ojcow, pp. 659-672 [in Polish with English abstr.]
    21. GRODZINSKA K. 1980: Heavy metals pollution of Polish national parks. Ochr. Przyr. 43: 9-27 [in Polish]
    22. HELIOS-RYBICKA E. 1991: Accumulation and mobilisation of heavy metals in the aquatic sediments, dated sediments as chronological factor. In: Proceedings of the Conference Geological Aspects of Environmental Protection. AGH, Krakow, pp. 17-24
    23. HUDSON L. & CIBOROWSKI J. 1996: Teratogenic and genotoxic responses of larvae of Chironomus salinarius group (Diptera, Chironomidae) to contaminated sediment. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 15: 1375-1381 Go to original source...
    24. KEYL H. 1962: Chromosomenevolution bei Chironomus. II. Chromosomenumbauten und phylogenische Beziehungen der Arten. Chromosoma 13: 496-541 Go to original source...
    25. KIKNADZE I.I. 1978: Comparative characteristics of puffing pattern in salivary gland chromosomes of Chironomus thummi during larval development and metamorphosis. II. Puffing pattern in Chromosomes I, II, III. Tsitologia 20: 514-521
    26. KOSTRAKIEWICZ L. 2001: Sezonowa zmiennosc chemizmu wod powierzchniowych w okresie posuchy atmosferycznej na terenie Ojcowskiego Parku Narodowego i jego otuliny [Seasonal variability of surface water chemistry during the atmospheric drought in the Ojcow National Park and its buffer zone]. In: Proceedings of the Conference "Badania naukowe w poaudniowej czesci Wyzyny Krakowska-Czestochowskiej". [Research Study in the Southern Part of the KrakowCzestochowa Upland, 10-11 May 2001.] Ojcow, pp. 61-63 [in Polish]
    27. LAGADIC L. & CAQUET T. 1998: Invertebrates in testing of environmental chemicals: Are they alternatives? Environ. Health Perspect. 106 (Suppl. 2): 593-613 Go to original source...
    28. LARNER B.L., SEEN A.J. & TOWNSEND A.T. 2006: Comparative study of optimised BCR sequential extraction scheme and acid leaching of elements in the certified reference material NIST 2711. Anal. Chim. Acta 556: 444-449 Go to original source...
    29. LEZZI M. & GILBERT L. 1980: Differential effect of K+ and NA + on specific bands of isolated polytene chromosomes of Chironomus tentans. J. Parenter. Enteral. Nutr. 4: 131-136
    30. MARTIN L. & PORTER D. 1973: The salivary gland chromosomes of Glyptotendipes barbipes (Diptera, Chironomidae): description of inversion of Nearctic and Palearctic karyotypes. Stud. Nat. Sci. 8: 1-25
    31. MASON J., CAPKOVA FRYDRYCHOVA R. & BIESSMANN H. 2008: Drosophila telomeres: an exception providing new insights. BioEssays 30: 25-37 Go to original source...
    32. MCCREADIE J. & COLBO M. 1992: Spatial distribution patterns of larval cytotypes of the Simulium venustum/verecundum complex (Diptera, Simuliidae) on the Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland: factors associated with cytotype abundance and composition. Can. J. Zool. 70: 1389-1396 Go to original source...
    33. MEREGALLI G., BETTINETTI R., PLUYMERS L., VERMEULEN A., ROSSARO B. & OLLEVIER F. 2002: Mouthpart deformities and nucleolus activity in field-collected Chironomus riparius larvae. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol . 42: 405-409 Go to original source...
    34. MICHAILOVA P. 1989: The polytene chromosomes and their significance to the systematic of the family Chironomidae, Diptera. Acta Zool. Fenn. 186: 1-107
    35. MICHAILOVA P. 2011: Rearrangements in Chironomidae (Diptera) genomes induced by various environmental stress factors. Russ. J. Genet. Appl. Res. 1: 10-20 Go to original source...
    36. MICHAILOVA P., PETROVA N., RAMELLA L., SELLA G., TODOROVA J. & ZELANO V. 1996: Cytogenetic characteristics of a population of Chironomus riparius (Diptera, Chironomidae) from a polluted Po river station. Genetica 98: 161-178 Go to original source...
    37. MICHAILOVA P., ILKOVA I., PETROVA N. & WHITE K. 2001a: Rearrangements in the salivary gland chromosomes of Chironomus riparius Mg. (Diptera, Chironomidae) following exposure to lead. Caryologia 54: 349-363 Go to original source...
    38. MICHAILOVA P., PETROVA N., SELLA G., BOVERO S., RAMELLA L., REGOLI F. & ZELANO V. 2001b: Genotoxic effects of chromium on polytene chromosomes of Chironomus riparius Meigen 1804 (Diptera, Chironomidae). Caryologia 54: 59-71 Go to original source...
    39. MICHAILOVA P., PETROVA N., ILKOVA J., BOVERO S., BRUNETTI S., WHITE K. & SELLA G. 2006: Genotoxic effect of copper on salivary gland chromosomes of Chironomus riparius Meigen 1804 (Diptera, Chironomidae). Environ. Pollut. 144: 647-654 Go to original source...
    40. MICHAILOVA P., ILKOVA J., KERR R. & WHITE K. 2009a: Chromosome variability in Chironomus acidophilus Keyl from the Afon Goach, UK - a river subject to long-term metal pollution. Aquat. Insects 31: 213-225 Go to original source...
    41. MICHAILOVA P., SZAREK-GWIAZDA E. & KOWNACKI A. 2009b: Effect of contaminants on the genome of some species of genus Chironomus (Chironomidae, Diptera) living in sediments of Dunajec River and Czorsztyn Reservoir. Water Air Soil Pollut. 202: 245-258 Go to original source...
    42. MICHAILOVA P., SELLA G. & PETROVA P. 2012a: Chironomids (Diptera) and their salivary gland chromosomes as indicators of trace-metal genotoxicity. Ital. J. Zool. 79: 218-230 Go to original source...
    43. MICHAILOVA P., WARCHALOWSKA-SLIWA E., SZAREK-GWIAZDA E. & KOWNACKI A. 2012b: Does biodiversity of microinvertebrates and genome response of Chironomidae larvae (Diptera) reflect heavy metal pollution in a small pond? Environ. Monit. Assess. 184: 1-14 Go to original source...
    44. MIERNIK W. & WALEGA A. 2008: Anthropogenic influence on the quality of the water in the Pradnik River. Environ. Prot. Engin. 34: 103-108
    45. MORCILLO G., BARETTINO D., CARMONA M.J., CARRETERO M. & DIEZ J.L. 1988: Telomeric DNA sequences differentially activated by heat shock in two Chironomus subspecies. Chromosoma 96: 139-144 Go to original source...
    46. MULLER G. 1981: Die Schwermetallbelastung der Sedimente des Neckars und seiner Nebenfluesse. Eine Bestandaufnahme. Chemiker Ztg. 6: 157-164
    47. PEEV D. & GERASIMOV S. (eds): 1999: National Biomonitoring Program of Bulgaria. Ministry of Environment and Waters. Phare - Consortium Biota, pp. 13-237
    48. OSTROWSKA A., GAWLINSKI S. & SZCZUBIALKA Z. 1991: Metody analizy i oceny wlasciwosci gleb i roslin. [Methods for Analysis of Soils and Crops. A Catalogue.] IOS, Warszawa, 334 pp. [in Polish]
    49. PARTYKA J. & KLASA A. 2008: Ojcow National Park, general description. In Klasa A. & Partyka J. (eds): Monograph of the Ojcow National Park, Nature Ojcow. Ojcowski National Park, Ojcow, pp. 19-28 [in Polish with English abstr]
    50. PETROVA N. & MICHAILOVA P. 2002: Cytogenetic characteristics of Chironomus bernensis Wuelker and Kloetzli (Diptera, Chironomidae) from a heavy metal polluted station in Northern Italy. Ann. Zool. 52: 227-233 Go to original source...
    51. PLANELLO R., MARTINEZ-GUITARTE L. & MORCILLO G. 2007: Ribosomal genes as early target of cadmium-induced toxicity in Chironomus riparius larvae. Sci. Total Environ. 373: 113-121 Go to original source...
    52. SABDERSON C., MCLACHLAN A., CRAPPER D. & DE BONI U. 1982: Altered steroid induced puffing by chromatin bound aluminium in a polytene chromosome of the blackfly Simulium vittatum. Can. J. Genet. Cytol. 24: 27-36 Go to original source...
    53. SCHLEE D. 1968: Zur Praeparation von Chironomiden. II. Die Behandlung ausgeblichen bzw. Getrocknen Praeparate. Ann. Zool. Fenn. 5: 127-129
    54. SELLA G., BOVERO S., GINEPRO M., MICHAILOVA P., PETROVA P., ROBOTTI C.A. & ZELANO V. 2004: Inherited and somatic cytogenetic variability in Palaearctic populations of Chironomus riparius Meigen (Diptera, Chironomidae). Genome 47: 332-344 Go to original source...
    55. SIWEK J. & CHELMICKI W. 2004: Geology and land-use related pattern of spring water quality. Case study from the catchments of the Malopolska Upland (S. Poland). Geol. Acta 2: 167-174
    56. SMITH S.L., MACDONALD D.D., KEENLYSIDE K.A., INGERSOLL C.G. & FIELD J. 1996: A preliminary evaluation of sediment quality assessment values for freshwater ecosystems. J. Great Lakes Res. 22: 624-638 Go to original source...
    57. SOKAL R. & ROHLF F. 1995: Biometry. 3rd ed. W. Freeman, New York, 887 pp
    58. STANDARD REFERENCE MATERIAL (NCS DC 73308) 2004: Certificate of Certified Reference Materials. Stream sediment. Approved by China National Analysis Center for Iron and Steel, ISO9001, Beijing, China
    59. STEINBERG C., STURZENBAUM S. & MENZEL R. 2008: Genes and environment - striking the fine balance between sophisticated biomonitoring and true functional environmental genomics. Sci. Total Environ. 400: 142-161 Go to original source...
    60. SZAREK-GWIAZDA E. & MAZURKIEWICZ-BORON G. 2006: Influence of cadmium and lead partitioning in water and sediment on their deposition in the sediment of a eutrophic dam reservoir. Oceanol. Hydrobiol. Stud. 35: 141-157
    61. VEST PEDERSON B. 1984: The effect of anoxia on the survival of chromosomal variants in larvae of the midge Chironomus plumosus L. (Diptera, Chironomidae). Hereditas 101: 75-77 Go to original source...
    62. WHITE M. 1977: Animal Cytology and Evolution. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 468 pp
    63. WIESLANDER L. 1994: The Balbiani ring multigene family: coding sequences and evolution of a tissue-specific function. Prog. Nucl. Acid Res. 48: 275-313 Go to original source...
    64. WULKER W. & GOTZ G. 1968: Die Vervendung der Imaginalscheiben des Entwicklunszustndes von Chironomus Larven. Z. Morphol. Tiere 62: 363-388 Go to original source...
    65. ZHIMULEV I. 1996: Morphology and structure of polytene chromosomes. In Hall J.C. & Dunlap J.C. (eds): Advances in Genetics. Vol. 34. Academic Press, San Diego, 490 pp Go to original source...
    66. ZHIMULEV I., BELYAEVA E., SEMESHIN V., KORYAKOV D., DEMAKOV S., DEMAKOVA O., POKHOLKOVA G. & ANDREYAEVA E. 2004: Polytene chromosomes: 70 years of genetic research. Intern. Rev. Cytol. 241: 203-275 Go to original source...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content