Mutagenesis Advance Access published online on January 24, 2006
Mutagenesis, doi:10.1093/mutage/gei076
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 Laboratory of Animal Cytogenetics and Gene Mapping, National Research Council (CNR), ISPAAM, Naples, Italy
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. During the past four years several livestock farms (sheep, cattle and river buffalo) in the provinces of Naples and Caserta (southern Italy) have been unable to sell their milk and other dairy products due to the levels of dioxins (17 different types) present in the milk mass exceeding the value permitted [3 pg/g of fat, as human WHO 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD or dioxin) equivalent]. While some farms, especially those showing relatively low levels of dioxins, have managed to reduce the dioxins in the milk below the permitted threshold by changing the diet, many, especially sheep farms, have failed to do so. Indeed, about 12 000 head of cattle, river buffaloes and sheep have so far been culled. In the present study, 34 and 42 sheep from two herds raised in the province of Naples (Acerra municipality) and where high levels of dioxins (50.65 and 39.51 pg/g of fat, respectively) were found in the milk mass, were cytogenetically investigated and compared with 20 sheep (control) raised 80 km away from the exposed area. Increases of both chromosome abnormalities (gap, chromosome and chromatid breaks) (17 and 8 times higher in the two exposed herds, respectively) and sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) were found in both herds when compared with the control, and the differences were highly significant (P < 0.001). No statistical differences were found when comparing the frequencies of aneuploid cells of exposed animals (16.4 and 17.8%) and control (17.9%). Furthermore, high levels of mortality and abnormal foetuses were recorded in one of the two farms when compared with the control.
Received October 19, 2005
Revised December 1, 2005
Accepted December 19, 2005
Original article
Increased frequencies of both chromosome abnormalities and SCEs in two sheep flocks exposed to high dioxin levels during pasturage
A. Perucatti 1,
G. P. Di Meo 1,
S. Albarella 1,
F. Ciotola 2,
D. Incarnato 1,
A. Caputi Jambrenghi 3,
V. Peretti 2,
G. Vonghia 3,
and
L. Iannuzzi 1 *
2 Department of Animal Science and Food Inspection, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University ‘Federico II’, Naples, Italy
3 Department of Animal Production, University of Bari, Italy
L. Iannuzzi, E-mail: L.Iannuzzi{at}iabbam.na.cnr.it
Abstract 
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  S. Albarella, F. Ciotola, C. Dario, L. Iannuzzi, V. Barbieri, and V. Peretti Chromosome instability in Mediterranean Italian buffaloes affected by limb malformation (transversal hemimelia) Mutagenesis, November 1, 2009; 24(6): 471 - 474. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
V Peretti, F Ciotola, S Albarella, V Russo, G. Di Meo, L Iannuzzi, F Roperto, and V Barbieri Chromosome fragility in cattle with chronic enzootic haematuria Mutagenesis, September 1, 2007; 22(5): 317 - 320. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|