Impact of Heavy Metal on Aquatic Life and Human Health

Environmental pollution caused by heavy metals has become a serious threat to living organisms and human health all over the world. Heavy metal accumulation in freshwater bodies, soil, atmosphere, and the aquatic environment is caused by the use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture, mining, and untreated waste disposal. The aquatic biome is divided into freshwater and marine regions, with oceans covering nearly three-quarters of the Earth's surface and containing 97% of all the water on our blue planet Earth. Heavy metal contamination has been a major environmental issue in river basins particularly since the beginning of industrialization. Much research has been conducted to demonstrate the origins, dispersal, and fate of related contaminants, as well as the associated effects on the environment and public health. Heavy metals enter coastal and marine environments through different natural sources and man-made activities, such as sewage and industrial effluents, brine discharges, coastal reconstructions, and pollution from fossil carbon sources. Heavy metal contamination in coastal and marine environments became a particularly serious threat to organisms and humans, the latter relying on marine resources for food, applied industries, and recreation.

Heavy metals cause DNA damage and instigate genotoxicity in aquatic animals, resulting in aberrant gene expression, DNA strand breakage, and improper DNA-protein interaction. Genotoxicity involves the biosynthesis of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which causes oxidative modifications of DNA. Similarly, the formation of hydroxyl radicals can result in nitrogenous base alteration and DNA strand breaks. Known factors affecting heavy metal toxicity are pH, alkalinity, temperature, oxygen, and level of heavy water. Heavy metals in compounds are highly toxic to fish as compared to their free radicals. Analysis of DNA damage in aquatic animals is the most reliable biomarker to investigate the level of genotoxicity caused by exposure to heavy metals in an aquatic reservoir. The comet assay or single-cell gel electrophoresis are common techniques to evaluate the level of genotoxicity in fishes exposed to various pollutants.

This Research Topic aims to summarize the latest developments in the field of genetic and proteomic biomarkers for the detection of heavy metal pollutants. Furthermore, we will explore the genotoxic effects of heavy metals on aquatic organisms, as well as indirect effects on human health. Experimental work on different aquatic organisms, along with substantial genomics or related "omics" approaches are expected for this Research Topic.

For this Research Topic, we particularly welcome submissions of original research, reviews, mini-reviews, methods, and brief research reports focusing on, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Heavy metal effects on the genomes of aquatic organisms from freshwater and/or marine environments.
• Recent advances in developing genomic/proteomic biomarkers to study heavy metals in aquatic organisms.
• Genetic approaches are involved in risk assessment and for the mediation of safety against the harmful effects of heavy metals on aquatic organisms.
• Bio-aquatic heavy metal toxicity and their indirect effects on human health.

Note: Bioinformatic analysis without validation field or lab experiments will not be considered for this collection. Similarly, isolated proteomic biomarker studies without field- or organism related data are not acceptable.