Chapter 10: Epigenetic And Transgenerational Toxicity In Freshwater Fishes Exposed To Emerging Pollutants And Its Effects On Aquatic Life

Abstract

Aquatic environments are drastically burdened with a wide range of pollutants and carcinogens originating from massive industrialization, agriculture, domestic waste, and pharmaceutical consumption, radioactive waste. These contaminants produce complex physiological and biochemical load in freshwater organisms bodies, particularly fishes, which serve as key ecological indicators of pollution and other sever changes of the ocean. Recent advances in molecular biology have revealed that pollutants can induce epigenetic alterations other genetic leathal mutations in the organisms—heritable changes in gene expression DNA sequence.