Induction of MFO activity in the antarctic fish Pagotenia bernacchii: preliminary results

The aim of this study was to determine the detoxication capacity and the sensitivity to pollutants of fish living in a pristine environment such as the Antarctic Ocean. Forty specimens of Pagothenia bernacchii collected during the Antarctic summer of 1991-92 were divided into three groups, and were treated with 10 mg/kg of B (alpha) P, 50 mg/kg of PCBs and corn oil and sacrificed after 2, 4 and 10 days. The mixed function oxidase activity measured in these fish through the test of BPMO, EROD and BROD activities revealed that both B(alpha)P and PCBs are effective in inducing this enzyme system. Owing to the slow metabolic rate of this species, related to the low ambient temperature of its natural habitat, the highest level of induction was monitored after 10 days, i.e. much later than in fish of temperate seas.