Egyptian Journal of Aquatic Biology & Fisheries

Zoology Department, Faculty of Science,

Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
ISSN 1110 – 6131
Vol. 25(3): 883 – 899 (2021)
www.ejabf.journals.ekb.eg

Biochemical, Histopathological, and Genetic Impacts of River Nile Pollutants

on the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

Anas A. Heiba1*, Amal M. Yacoub2&4, Ebrahim A. Sabra1, Reham M. Abd El-Azeem3,

Medhat H. Hashem1
1. Animal Biotechnology Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Research Institute
(GEBRI), University of Sadat City (USC), Sadat City, Egypt.
2. National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Cairo, Egypt.
3. Environmental Biotechnology Department, GEBRI, USC, Sadat City, Egypt.
4. Faculty of Science, Taif University
*
Corresponding Author: [email protected]

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Article History: Water pollution is one of the most principal environmental and public
Received: April 17, 2021 health problems in the River Nile. In the present study, aims were directed
Accepted: June 2, 2021 to evaluate the biochemical, histopathological, and genetic effects of El-
Online: June 30, 2021 Rahawy Drain pollutants on the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Hence,
_______________ during the summer of 2018 and winter 2019, fish samples were collected
from two locations (upstream and downstream) of El-Rahawy drain in the
Keywords:
River Nile at the Rosetta Branch. Biochemical studies (Total Protein,
Pollutants,
Albumin, Globulin, A/G, total lipids, Cholesterol, AST, and ALT) were
Biochemical,
carried out for the specimens and important results were revealed.
Histopathological,
Compared with the fish caught from the upstream, a deterioration was
Genetic,
detected in the health status of the downstream- fish; displaying more
SSR (Simple sequence
extreme histopathological and molecular variations. Using SSR (simple
repeats),
sequence repeats) to detect the molecular effects of water pollutants on O.
Oreochromis niloticus,
niloticus, molecular markers indicated genetic differences in fish samples
River Nile.
from the same sex in the different studied locations. Consequently, to
prevent disease outbreaks and aquatic ecosystem disturbances, the Rosetta
Branch is recommended to have an intensive water-quality monitoring
program, and wastewater treatment as well.

INTRODUCTION

All over the world, freshwater resources such as rivers are polluted with a variety
of solid and liquid wastes. In Egypt, the River Nile has become polluted due to the
discharge of untreated waste, dumping of industrial effluents, and run-offs from
agricultural fields, making it a model for a polluted ecosystem to assess biomarker
responses in fish (Osman 2012; Hashem et al., 2020a). The River Nile is Egypt's most
important source of water. It bifurcates at a distance of 25 km (north of Cairo) into the
Rosetta and Damietta branches forming a delta (Abdel-Satar et al., 2017). Rosetta
884 Heiba et al. , 2021

Branch is about 225 kilometers long with an average depth of 2.0–2.3 meters.
Agricultural, commercial, and domestic wastewaters, as well as anthropogenic activities,
all contribute to a high microbial load on the Rosetta Branch in addition to the organic
and inorganic pollutants (Othman et al., 2020). Therefore, serious negative impacts on
the branch environment have been detected (Hashem et al., 2020a).
The Nile tilapia is the sixth most cultured fish in the world (Reantaso, 2017;
Hashem et al., 2020b). It can be used to estimate the Nile pollutants and is one of the
most major biomonitors for water pollution (Hamdoon et al., 2002a, b; Begum, 2004).
The pollutants directly enter the River Nile fish through the gills or the intestines. Then,
through the bloodstream, pollutants are distributed throughout the body, where blood
cells are the first receptors (Sadauskas-Henrique et al., 2011). Remarkably, blood
biomarkers have been over used in fisheries science because being crucial in
toxicological research, environmental monitoring, and predicting fish health conditions.
(Bitten-Court et al., 2003). As a result, fish blood shows observable physiological
changes faster than any other physiological evaluation parameter (Ezeri et al., 2004). It
also reacts to changes in other tissues as a result of pollution exposure (Ruas et al.,
2008). Since blood parameters react to low doses of contaminants, hematological and
biochemical variables have recently emerged as promising biomarkers for measuring the
effects of aquatic pollution in fish. Blood parameters are critical in diagnosing the
structural and functional state of fish exposed to environmental contaminants because
they are considered good physiological biomarkers of the entire body (Seriani et al.,
2011). Hematological and biochemical variables' responses to environmental stressors are
usually unspecific. Nonetheless, by indicating the general physiology and health status of
fish, they can provide useful information in impact assessment studies (Beyer et al.,
1996).
The muscular system makes up the majority of a teleost's body. Locomotion,
synchronized movement of skeletal components, blood pumping, and peristaltic
constriction of visceral organs and their associated structures are some of their roles in
the overall body (Saad et al., 2012). The epidermis of skin has recently been shown to
contain naturally bacteriolytic substances as well as a constantly responding immune
system, where, the affected epidermis losing its protective function as well as its osmotic
barrier ability (Kadry et al., 2015).
Genome identification and selection have progressed rapidly with PCR
technology help. A large number of markers that require only a small quantity of DNA
have been developed. Each marker method has its advantages and
disadvantages (Shehata et al., 2009). Molecular markers such as inter simple sequence
repeats (ISSR) and simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers are vital tools for monitoring
fish populations (Rashed et al., 2008; Hashem et al., 2020a) and fish species genetic
variability (Saad et al., 2009). The SSR marker is a co-dominant molecular marker that
 885 Biochemical, histopathological, and genetic impacts of River Nile pollutants on O. nilotica

can distinguish between homozygotic and heterozygotic samples and also have a large
number of alleles.
Hashem et al. (2020a) found that water quality parameters (nutrient salts and
heavy metals) were increased at downstream of El-Rahawy Drain in addition to the
depletion of dissolved oxygen. Additionally, fish samples showed severe histological and
molecular alterations in downstream compared to upstream by using liver tissues and
PCR-ISSR markers, respectively.
Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the biochemical, histopathological (skin
and muscles), and genetic effects (by using SSR molecular markers) of El- Rahawy Drain
pollutants on the Nile tilapia; Oreochromis niloticus.
MATERIALS AND METHODS

1- Study area
The River Nile pollutants are derived from different uncontrolled sources such as
industrial wastewater, agricultural drainage, in addition to municipal wastewater (Al-Afify
and Abdel-Satar, 2020). Rosetta Branch receives heavy pollutants, untreated municipal
and agricultural drainage water, containing a high amount of organic matter and heavy
metals from El-Rahawy Drain. To examine the polluted water, fish samples were collected
from two locations (upstream and downstream) of El-Rahawy drain at Rosetta Branch of
River Nile during the summer of 2018 and winter 2019 (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1: A map showing the sampling locations in (I) Upstream and (II) Downstream of El-
Rahawy drain at Rosetta Branch.
2- Biochemical studies
2.1 Sampling and preparation of blood serum
The fish were caught from the selected locations and dried from excess external
water with filter paper. The blood samples were taken by cutting the tail of the fish.
Blood samples were taken by severance of the caudal peduncle of fish and collected into
small sterilized vials. The blood was left to clot and then centrifuged at 3000 r. p. m for
10 minutes to obtain serum. Supernatant serum was obtained using a micropipette model
(Labystems K 33071) for biochemical studies.
 886 Heiba et al. , 2021

2.2 Blood serum analysis

- Serum total proteins and albumin
Kits for the determination of total proteins and albumin (Sigma-Aldrich) were used.
- Globulin content
The globulin content was obtained by the succeeding equation:
Globulin content = Protein content – Albumin content.
- Serum total lipid and cholesterol
This was conducted by using serum cholesterol and total lipid Kits (Diamond diagnostic
kits, USA).
- Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and Aspartate aminotransferase (AST)
For the determination of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate
aminotransferase (AST), and creatinine, Spectrum Diagnostics kits, Egypt were used.
3- Histopathological studies:
Skin and muscle samples obtained from O. niloticus were carefully removed then
fixed in 10% formalin, dehydrated in ascending grades of alcohol and cleared in xylene.
The fixed tissues were embedded in paraffin wax and sectioned at 5 microns by using
Euromex Holland microtome. Sections were stained according to Harris Hematoxylin and
Eosin method (Bernet et al., 1999), examined microscopically and photographed by
using a microscopic camera.
4- SSR Molecular Markers
4.1 DNA extraction
Fish muscle tissues were used for DNA extraction through a genomic DNA
extraction kit (G-Spin) from iNtRON Biotechnology, Inc., Korea. This kit was used for
rapid isolation of the total DNA of 20 fish samples from the two locations (10 samples
from each, 5 males and 5 females).
4.2 SSR primers
Eight SSR marker loci were screened from 20 individuals to detect the differences
between the samples from the two studied locations (up and downstream of the drain).
The PCR primers that were used are shown in Table (1) as described by Eshel et al.
(2012).

Table 1: Simple Sequence Repeats Markers (SSR) Primers Sequences that were Used with O.
niloticus Individuals from the Two Studied Locations.
Primer Forward Primer Reverse Primer
1 TGCTCTCACTGCTGAGCAAA CGCAAATGTTAGGCCAGAAA
2 AAGACCCGTTCTTCGTCGTC TTCATTCCACCTGCTCCAAA
3 GTGAGGCAAGTCCGGTTTCT TGATCCACGGCGTATTGAGT
4 GTGGGCAAAAACAAGCCATT TGTTTCAGTGTGAACGTGTGTG
5 AGGCCTTTCATCGCTGTTTT ACCCTGTAGATGAGCGCAAA
6 AAGGGAAAGTGGCTCAGCTC GTTGCTTCCCCACAGTTTCA
7 AGGAGAAGTCGCAGGTGACA GGCACAGTTGCCTGGTACAT
8 CGAGCTGCTTTGTTGTCTGA CGAACCGAAAATGAGAATGC
887 Biochemical, histopathological, and genetic impacts of River Nile pollutants on O. nilotica

4.3 PCR amplification conditions

The PCR conditions were as follows: 5 mins at 94oC followed by 60 sec at 94oC,
45 sec at 55oC, and 60 sec at 72oC for 30 cycles and a final step for 10 mins at 72oC.
PCR products were tested by using 3% agarose gel electrophoresis. 100 bp DNA ladder
plus (iNtRON Biotechnology, Inc. Korea) was used to detect the obtained PCR products.
The electrophoresis run was achieved at 75 V in the DNA electrophoresis unit (Bio-Rad)
for 90 mins.
4.4 Molecular markers data analysis
The SSR banding patterns were scored as (1) for the appearance band and (0) for
the disappearance one. Data matrices were analyzed using the Numerical Taxonomic and
Multivariate Analysis System program (NTSYS), version 2.1, Applied Biostatistics Inc.
(Rohlf, 2000). Similarity coefficients were applied for dendrogram construction by using
the UPGMA (Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Average) as well as the
SAHN (Sequential Agglomerative Hierarchical Nested Clustering) routine in the NTSYS
program.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

1. Biochemical studies
The variations of biochemical parameters of the studied O. niloticus fish are
tabulated in Table (2).
Table 2: Variations of Biochemical Parameters of O.niloticus Fish Collected from Two Different
Seasons.
Blood Parameter Summer season Winter season Ahmed et al. Mohamed
upstream Downstream upstream Downstream (2019) et.al. (2020)
Total protein(g/dl) 3.80 2.5 3.30 2.10 3.7- 6.3 -
Albumin (g/dl) 1.85 0.70 1.30 0.55 1.8 -1.1 -
Globulin (g/dl) 1.95 1.50 2.00 1.55 - -
,A/G ratio 0.92 0.46 0.65 0.35 - -
Total lipids (mg/dl) 450.00 850.00 420.00 950.00 - -
Cholesterol(mg/dl) 75.50 175.50 109.25 196.60 81-189 136-202.9
AST (IU/ml) 48.00 220.00 72.50 288.00 58.6 -275 15.2 – 37.5
ALT ( IU/ml) 42.50 95.50 55.40 150.50 29 -68 14.4 – 25.4
Biochemical studies have been used as an indicator of the health status of fish and
an important indicator to address the effect of pollutants on fish (Ahmed, 2012; Bayomy
et al., 2017; Hashem, 2020a).
Total serum protein (T.S.P.)
The important function of total serum protein is the maintenance of osmotic
balance between the circulating blood and tissue spaces (Ahmed et al., 2019). The results
declared that the T.S.P. has lower values for O. niloticus samples collected from
downstream than the upstream as shown in Table (2). Furthermore, those values were
lower in winter than in summer. The decrease in the total serum protein in the O.
niloticus collected from downstream may be due to the changes taking place in serum
888 Heiba et al. , 2021

globulin metabolism as a result of different pollutants discharged from El-Rahawy Drain

as reported in the study of Tayel et al. (2014).
Total serum albumin (T.S.A.) and Total serum globulin (T.S.Gl.)
The determination of albumin and globulin were taken into consideration in the
present investigation, as variation in total serum protein is more or less due to the changes
taking place in the serum globulin metabolism as a result of water pollution (Ahmed,
2012). The values of albumin for the selected fish were within the range obtained by
Ahmed et al. (2019) as shown in Table (2). The decrease in albumin and globulin for
fish living downstream (sewage water) may be explained as a result of the increase in
metabolic rate of albumin and globulin due to the decrease or depletion in dissolved
oxygen. This explanation agrees with that of Tayel et al. (2008, 2013).
Total serum lipids and Cholesterol
It was observed that the obtained values of total serum lipids and cholesterol were
higher downstream than those recorded upstream (Table 2). In addition, the total serum
lipids and cholesterol were recorded high level in winter, where the decrease in flow level
of the Nile in winter tends to concentrate the pollutant as ammonia (Ahmed et al., 2019;
Mohamed et al., 2020).
Alanine aminotransferase level (ALT) and Aspartate aminotransferase level (AST)
The lysosomal membranes which are very sensitive to many pathogenic factors
are disrupted thus their enzymes are released causing degeneration and vacillation of the
cytoplasm of liver cells (Bayomy and Mahmoud, 2007). The aminotransferase alanine
and aminotransferase aspartate are two important key enzymes considered as sensitive
markers to evaluate hepatocellular damage and some hepatic diseases (Aly et al., 2003).
The present data showed that the values of ALT and AST obtained from fish collected
from downstream were higher than those obtained from upstream (Table 2). On the other
hand, those values recorded the highest level during winter for both locations coinciding
with the decrease in the flow level of the Nile. The values of ALT and AST of the O.
niloticus fish collected from the two studied locations were higher than the ranges
obtained in the study of Mohamed et al. (2020). Those results showed a general trend of
an increase in ALT and AST activities. Moreover, findings indicated that the pollutants of
the Nile water affect the liver cells as evidenced by the alterations that occurred in both
AST and ALT activities. Additionally, the increments in the ALT and AST activities
could be considered as indicators for liver damage (Ibrahim and Mahmoud, 2005;
Bayomy et al., 2017). Furthermore, it may be attributed to sewage wastes of the El-
Rahawy Drain and increasing of organic pollutants, ammonia, and heavy metals in the
River Nile (Ahmed, 2012).
2. Histopathological studies
Histopathology is used as a sub-lethal test for evaluating the toxic effect of water
pollutants on fish (Yacoub et al., 2020; Tayel et al., 2020; Hashem et al., 2020a).
889 Biochemical, histopathological, and genetic impacts of River Nile pollutants on O. nilotica

Skin and muscles

Normally, the skin of O. niloticus fish is composed of epidermal, dermal, and
hypodermal layers. The skin covers the muscles’ layer, which is composed chiefly of
segmental myomeres. Each myomere is regarded as muscle and its fibers are parallel to
the long axis of the body (Tayel et al., 2018). Skin and muscles of O. niloticus, collected
from the investigated area, suffered from many pathological alterations.
Morphologically, the skin and muscle of O. niloticus fish inhabiting the water of
investigated area showed absence of scales and destroyed dorsal fin, especially in
specimens collected from the downstream location.

Fig. 2: Vertical Section (V.S.) in Skin and Muscles Sections of O niloticus Collected from
Upstream and Downstream Regions of El-Rahawy Drain Discharge Point at Rosetta
Branch. (H&E) X400. Showing:
a) Necrosis (N) in dermal & hypodermal layers. Hemosiderin (Hn) in hypodermal layers.
b) Necrosis (N) and edema (E) in the muscles layer.
c) Degeneration (D) in skin & muscle layers and necrosis (N) & hemosiderin (Hn) in the connective layer.
d) Parasitic form (P) in the muscle layer.
e) Parasitic form (P) in the muscle layer.
f) Necrosis (N) in epidermal, dermal, hypodermal, and muscle layers. Hemosiderin (Hn) beneath dermal layers.
890 Heiba et al. , 2021

Histological alterations of skin and muscles of O. niloticus fish collected from the
investigated area were summarized in degeneration, necrosis, edema, and hemosiderin
accumulation in all skin and muscle layers for samples obtained during winter and
summer seasons from upstream and downstream locations but with a severe degree for
the sample collected from downstream.Noticeably, samples collected from the
downstream location during summer are specified with the occurrence of parasites (Fig.
2). In the present study, the histological alterations in skin and muscle may be attributed
to the increasing level of ammonia, trace elements and turbidity in addition to depletion
in oxygen concentrations in the surrounding water especially at downstream; forming an
observation that matches with that obtained by Ahmed (2012), Bayomy et al. (2017),
Hashem et al. (2020a) and Tayel et al. (2020).
3. Molecular Markers
Eight primers were used to study the effects of water pollution on SSR loci in the
studied samples. The DNA fragments exhibited by the eight primers of SSR (P1-P8) from
20 samples (5 males and 5 females from each location of up and downstream) were
separated using 3% agarose gel electrophoresis and are presented in Fig. (3).
All eight SSR markers loci primers of the 20 studied tilapia samples from the up
and downstream of El-Rahawy Drain produced clear amplified fragments of DNA (Fig.
3). Most of the loci were polymorphic, with allele numbers that ranged from 1-4 alleles.
Twenty alleles were obtained from females’ genome samples and nineteen from males
(Tables 3 & 4). The average of alleles per locus was 2.5 and 2.4 for females and males,
respectively. It is worth mentioning that, the homozygous and heterozygous of locus do
not depend on the sex. The dendrogram of SSR markers of males and females’ samples
are shown in Figs. (4 & 5), respectively. The dendrograms classified the studied samples
of males and females into two clusters with respect to the studied locations. The up and
downstream drain samples were in a separated cluster in the two sexes.
The two dendrograms indicate the genetic variances in SSR loci of fish samples
from the same sex in the different studied locations. Hashem et al. (2020a) deduced the
same results when they used ISSR markers and indicated that those variances were in a
positive association with the concentrations of heavy metals and the quality of up and
downstream of the drain. The previous authors assumed that, the concentrations of heavy
metals in downstream water cause DNA mutilation.
Fishes are impacted strongly by environmental pollution, and the fishes potential
to persist in contaminated water depends on their adaptive capacity, which is closely
linked to their genome variability (Gross et al., 2010; Schneider et al., 2013; Silva et al.,
2016; Araújo da Silva et al., 2019).
In the present examination, the SSR markers were used to identify any molecular
effects of polluted water from the El-Rahawy Drain on the O. niloticus DNA. Compared
to ISSR, the SSR markers are specific and highly polymorphic (Karp et al., 1997; Jones
891 Biochemical, histopathological, and genetic impacts of River Nile pollutants on O. nilotica

et al., 1997), but they require information of the DNA sequence for specific primers’
design.

Fig. 3: Agarose Gel Electrophoresis for Amplified SSR Fragments Using (P1 - P8) Primers with
Samples of the Two Different Locations of El-Rahawy Drain (Up and downstream).
Lines 1-5: males, Lines 6-10: Female, and L: DNA ladder.
892 Heiba et al. , 2021

Table 3: The Obtained Fragments and 0/1 Table of the Eight SSR Primers that were Used with
O. niloticus Males’ Samples from Up and Downstream of the Studied Drain.
Males samples
Primers Alleles Upstream Downstream
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1
2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
P1
3 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
4 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
P2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
P3
2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
P4
2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
P5
2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
P6 2 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
P7 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0
1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
P8
2 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1
Table 4: The Obtained Fragments and 0/1 Table of the Eight SSR Primers that were Used with
O. niloticus Females’ Samples from Up and Downstream of the Studied Drain.
Females samples
primers Alleles Upstream Downstream
1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1
P1 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1
3 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
P2 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
P3 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
3 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0
1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
P4
2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1
P5
2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0
P6
3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1
4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
P7 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0
3 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
P8
2 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1
893 Biochemical, histopathological, and genetic impacts of River Nile pollutants on O. nilotica

Fig. 4: The Dendrogram was Constructed from Eight Primers of SSR Markers Showing the
Tilapia Males Samples' Genetic Relationships from Up and Downstream of El-
Rahawy Drain.

Fig. 5: The Dendrogram was Constructed from Eight Primers of SSR Markers Showing the
Tilapia Females Samples' Genetic Relationships from Up and Downstream of El-
Rahawy Drain.

SSR marker is a co-dominant marker that can differentiate between heterozygotic

and homozygotic samples and have a large number of alleles. Since the use of a single
SSR marker cannot provide authentic information (Shehata et al., 2009), eight different
SSR primers were used in the current study for the differences reliable detection between
the fish samples from up and downstream El-Rahawy Drain. The 8 different SSR primers
894 Heiba et al. , 2021

was recommended by Warburton et al. (2002) and Ravago-Gotanco et al. (2010). To

eliminate any effects of the sex, the different samples SSR results of every sex (males or
females) from the two locations were compared separately. In the samples of males and
females, a number of unique fragments was found between the two locations samples.
Eminently, those unique fragments point to mutation occurrence. The mutations
lead to the form of loss of a new primer binding site and the DNA fragment will hence be
classified (disappearance or appearance) based on the effects of pollutants. It was noticed
that, the downstream water of the studied drain was polluted with high concentrations of
heavy metals compared to the upstream water; an observasion that concurs with that of
Hashem et al. (2020a). To illustrate, Livingstone (2003), Sevcikova et al. (2011) and
Kamollerd et al. (2019) stated that the pollutants including heavy metals can cause an
imbalance between the free radical species production and reduction in fish. Additionally,
the free radicals can attack DNA molecules, protein, and lipid to induce oxidative stress
products and may cause DNA damage (Castano & Becerril, 2004; Vilela et al., 2018;
Kamollerd et al., 2019).
The genetic variations in fish samples from the same sex in different locations as
observed from dendrograms of SSR results indicated a positive correlation with metals
concentrations detected by Hashem et al. (2020a) in the same studied area. The samples
from the two different locations are separated into two different clusters as shown in Figs.
(4 & 5). The aforementioned results suggest that the pollutants in the downstream of El-
Rahawy Drain cause DNA damage. This finding matches with that of Wood et al.
(2001), Vilela et al. (2018) and Kamollerd et al. (2019) who reported that, in the
polluted water, heavy metal exposure could cause DNA damage in fish as double and
strand single breakages, alterations in the mechanism of DNA repair and DNA-protein
crosslinks. Heavy metals can induce oxidative stress, DNA damage, point mutations, and
several other indirect genotoxic effects (Waalkes, 2003; Castano & Becerril, 2004;
Suhartono et al., 2013, Kamollerd et al., 2019).

CONCLUSION

As a result of the persistent discharge of water containing high concentrations of

organic waste and salts from agricultural runoff of the El-Rahawy Drain, Rosetta Branch
is suffering from severe pollution and consequently impacts the Nile aquatic life. The fish
samples collected downstream of El-Rahawy displayed more extreme histopathological
and genetic variations than those collected upstream. It is recommended to make a master
plan for sewage treatment with an identified target in rural areas. Additionally, the
awareness of people who live on the banks of the River Nile valley must be increased.

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