Karolina Sunjog

• PhD
• University of Belgrade

This study aimed to determine concentrations of 29 elements in the gills and liver as well as biomarker response in gills, liver, and blood of European chub from Pek River (exposed to long-term mining activities), and to compare these findings with individuals from Ibar River (influenced by emission of treated municipal wastewater) and Kruščica res...

In this study a battery of bioassays, both in vivo (metals and metalloids concentrations, erythrocyte morphometry, comet assay, micronucleus assay, and histopathological analyses) on vimba bream Vimba vimba (L., 1758) and white bream Blicca bjoerkna (L., 1758), and in vitro (treatment of HepG2 cells with native water samples) was applied to assess...

One of the most severe threats to the Danube River course through Serbia is the direct discharge of untreated wastewater. In biomonitoring studies, faecal indicator bacteria are used to reveal the presence of untreated communal wastewater, while biomarker responses in indigenous biota serve as a useful indicator of their harmful potential. The obje...

Lake Ludaš is a protected nature reserve in Serbia that has been the focus of scientific interest, due to perpetual water quality deterioration that has led to consistent cyanobacterial blooms for almost five decades. To describe the possible effects of cyanotoxins on fish (Carrasius gibelio) inhabiting Lake Ludaš, several examinations were perform...

Environmental studies which aim to assess the ecological impact of chemical and other types of pollution should employ a complex weight-of-evidence approach with multiple lines of evidence (LoEs). This study focused on in situ genotoxicological methods such as the comet and micronucleus assays and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA analysis as one...

Invasive alien fish species represent one of the greatest threats to the biodiversity and ecological status of freshwater ecosystems. Within their management, their application as bioindicators of pollution in monitoring programs should be considered. The aim of this study was to examine the use of black bullhead Ameiurus melas (Rafinesque, 1820),...

In Serbia less than 13 % of collected municipal wastewaters is being treated before their release in the environment. This includes all municipal wastewater discharges from Belgrade (capital city of Serbia; population 1,700,000). Previous research has identified the impacts of raw wastewater discharges from Belgrade on the Danube River, and this st...

The aims of this study were to: (i) examine the toxic effects of sodium fluoride (NaF) in blood, liver, spleen, and brain cells of Wistar rats after the subacute exposure; (ii) explore the potential protective properties of selenium (Se) against fluoride toxicity after the simultaneous administration. Twenty male Wistar rats, eight weeks old, weigh...

In this study, few different evaluation concepts were used for the assessment of genotoxic potential at the stretch of the Danube River identified as a significant hotspot of pollution originated through the untreated wastewaters. Three sites were chosen: one site upstream of the wastewater outlet in Novi Sad (Serbia), one at the outlet of wastewat...

This study deals with bleak (Alburnus alburnus) sensitivity in detecting of the wastewater related pressure in large lowland rivers. The major objective was to investigate if the response measured in bleak should be linked to a certain stretch of the river and characterised as ”stretch specific”, or it should be linked to the sampling site and char...

Montenegrin surface water and groundwater are important for the Balkan Peninsula since they are connected by the transboundary Dinaric Karst Aquifer System with the waters of additional five countries. The pollution from the surface water can rapidly infiltrate in aquifer and endanger this sensible ecosystem and the health of humans through drinkin...

Due to the increasing industrialization, metals are discharged into all spheres of the environment, in particular, in river courses, which leads to the need for constant monitoring. Metals do not degrade into harmless end products; they are very persistent and have high potential for accumulation in biota. Metals in the fish body are accumulated in...

Fanconi anemia (FA) is a complex genetic disease with a variety of congenital and hematological symptoms, including the predisposition for cancer development. The main hallmark of FA cells, an increased chromosomal fragility, in the presence of the DNA-interstrand cross-linking chemicals, mitomycin C or diepoxybutane (DEB), makes the diagnosis of F...

The major objective of this study was to investigate the impact of wastewaters on the level of genotoxicity and the possible reflection of genotoxicity on the genetic variability in chub (Squalius cephalus) collected from the sites under different pollution pressures along the Sava River. To emphasize the impact of wastewaters, this study was carri...

The major objective of this study was to investigate the impact of wastewaters on the level of genotoxicity and the possible reflection of genotoxicity on the genetic variability in chub (Squalius cephalus) collected from the sites under different pollution pressures along the Sava River. To emphasize the impact of wastewaters, this study was carri...

In this study, mutagenic and genotoxic potential of anti-tumor compounds avarol, avarone, and its derivatives 3′-methoxyavarone, 4′-(methylamino)avarone and 3′-(methylamino)avarone was evaluated and compared to cytostatics commonly used in chemotherapy (5-fluorouracil, etoposid, and cisplatin). Mutagenic potential of selected hydroquinone and quino...

The Velika Morava River is the greatest national Serbian river and the significant tributary of the Danube River. The major problems in the Velika Morava River Basin (VMRB) represent untreated industrial and municipal wastewaters. In this study, the level of genotoxic potential at the sites along the VMRB was evaluated by parallel in vitro and in s...

The impact of etoposide (ETO), vincristine sulfate (VIN) and cisplatin (CP) on the DNA damage level was studied in vivo and in vitro on hemocytes of freshwater mussels Unio sp. (U. pictorum/U. tumidus) using the alkaline comet assay. For in vivo experiments, the mussels were exposed in static system for 72 h. For in vitro experiments, treatment was...

In this study we investigated the influence of preparation of the bacterial inoculum for a microdilution susceptibility test, e.g., the effect of its optical density, on assessment of the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC). The approach employed in the majority of microdilution susceptibility studies is use of the same optical density for prep...

Genotoxicity monitoring of the lower stretch of the Sava River was performed by the combined approach of in situ assessment of genotoxicity and active biomonitoring of two species of mussels from the Unionidae family, Unio pictorum and Unio tumidus. Genotoxic response was studied using comet assay on hemocytes. For active biomonitoring, the mussels...

Data on the microbiological quality of the freshwater systems under the anthropogenic influence, such as the Sava River, are of the major importance for the water resource management. Furthermore, analyses of the microbial quality of fish meat provide information of the fish as a valuable food resource from the investigated river basin. The health...

Freshwater bodies receive high levels of different toxicants. Since fish are typically situated at the top of aquatic food chains, they have a good potential to be used as indicators of water pollution. Assessment of the presence of pollutants and their toxicity can be efficiently performed by the combined use of analytical chemistry, bioassays and...

The impact of in vivo and in vitro exposure to anticancer drug 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) on the level of DNA damage was evaluated using comet assay on haemocytes of freshwater mussels Unio pictorum and Unio tumidus. For the in vivo experiment, the groups of 5 mussels per concentration were exposed for 72 h to 5-FU (0.04, 0.4, 4, 40 and 100 μM) with 0.4...

Genotoxic response of freshwater mussels U. tumidus and U. pictorum to environmental stress was studied using comet assay on hemocytes and gill cells. The mussels were acclimated to controlled laboratory conditions for 10 days, and then exposed at 4 sites in the Sava and Danube rivers in the area of the city of Belgrade. Samples of each species wer...

The genotoxic potential of waters in six rivers and reservoirs from Serbia was monitored in different tissues of chub (Squalius cephalus L. 1758) with the alkaline comet assay. The comet assay, or single-cell gel electrophoresis, has a wide application as a simple and sensitive method for evaluating DNA damage in fish exposed to various xenobiotics...

The aim of this study was to analyze 16 trace elements (Al, As, B, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sr, and Zn) in different barbel (Barbus barbus) tissues and to detect the presence of genotoxic effects in erythrocytes with the alkaline comet assay. Barbel specimens were collected in the Danube river near Belgrade, Serbia, where the dis...