Vlatka Filipović Marijić

• PhD
• Research Associate at Rudjer Boskovic Institute

The impact of the long-term historical contamination of the Mrežnica River with textile industry wastewaters on metal/metalloid bioaccumulation in the muscles of the young northern pike (Esox lucius) (0+ to 3+) was evaluated, as well as the association of bioaccumulated metal/metalloid concentrations in the muscle with fish physiology. Increased le...

Although Europe is the continent with the highest proportion of karst areas, where hydrological systems are essential but extremely sensitive, data on the ecological status of karst riverine catchments are scarce. The aim of the present study was to assess the spatial and temporal (long-term and seasonal) variability of the physico-chemical and org...

The high intraspecific variability of the morphological characters of Acanthocephala can complicate their taxonomic classification. To solve this problem, molecular markers are used. Here, we present the identification and determination of genetic variability of four species of the Acanthocephala genera Pomphorhynchus, Acanthocephalus and Dentitrun...

Although interest in Acanthocephala seems to have reached only a small community of researchers worldwide, we show in this opinion article that this group of parasites is composed of excellent model organisms for studying key questions in parasite molecular biology and cytogenetics, evolutionary ecology, and ecotoxicology. Their shared ancestry wit...

The goal of the present study was to investigate differences in biomarker responses related to metal(loid)s in white stork Ciconia ciconia) nestling's blood from continental Croatia. To achieve this, a battery of biomarkers that can be affected by environmental pollutants, including metal(loid)s, was assessed (esterase activity, fluorescence-based...

Acanthocephalans, intestinal parasites of vertebrates, are characterised by orders of magnitude higher metal accumulation than free-living organisms, but the mechanism of such effective metal accumulation is still unknown. The aim of our study was to gain new insights into the high-resolution localization of elements in the bodies of acanthocephala...

In the present study, essential and nonessential metal content and biomarker responses were investigated in the intestine of fish collected from the areas polluted by mining. Our objective was to determine metal and biomarker levels in tissue responsible for dietary intake, which is rarely studied in water pollution research. The study was conducte...

Mediterranean Sea is the sixth largest area of marine litter accumulation in the world, and plastic pollution is a growing problem in its Adriatic sub-basin. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the cultivable microbiota associated with plastic litter collected by commercial fishing trawlers in the south-eastern Adriatic Sea in comparison w...

The common approach of measuring only the total concentrations of macro- and trace elements in biological materials does not provide complete information about their bioavailability and toxicity, which is mostly associated with their binding to essential molecules in the cytosol [1]. The aim of this study was to apply and validate multielement anal...

Urbanization leads to changes in the natural state of the environment, including changes in natural aquatic habitats within urbanized zones. In the present study, the impact of urbanization on the water quality of urban streams, which are important sources of drinking water and recreational areas for the urban population, was investigated along two...

Background and purpose: Pigmented macrophage aggregates (PMAs) are a part of the immune system of fish and are considered as valuable biomarkers of the impact of water pollution on fish health.Materials and methods: Immunomodulatory effect of water contaminated with high levels of metals on spleen and splenic PMAs of Vardar chub (Squalius vardarens...

Background: Each of the bioindicator organisms studied, such as fish, crustaceans, or parasites, have certain advantages when used in the assessment of metal exposure. In this research, special attention was given to intestinal parasites, acanthocephalans, as effective metal bioaccumulators with the main aim of estimating and comparing metal accumu...

The Croatian karst river Mrežnica has been in some parts exposed to pollution from various types of anthropogenic activities, especially from industry. Although most industrial plants now provide proper treatment and discharge of wastewater, pollutants previously accumulated in sediments may still pose a threat to aquatic organisms. Molecular bioma...

The patterns of sequestration of metals with cytosolic proteins and/or "insoluble" cellular deposits (granules) are species and metal specific [1]. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine whether there are differences in the intracellular distribution (i.e. between cytosolic and insoluble tissue fractions, distribution among cytosolic bio...

The appearance of COVID disease and the introduction of subsequent measures and specific medical treatments throughout the world in 2020 could have been expected to cause the drug content changes in the surface waters. We have studied the lower course of the Croatian Mrežnica River at three areas (rural, small town, and large town domains) in three...

Metal-handling strategies of various fish species are known to vary significantly in association with their intracellular metal behaviour. Thus, to better understand the possible consequences of increased metal exposure in fish it is important to perform comparative studies on metal-binding biomolecules in organs of different species. This study wa...

Although there are common and well-established bioindicator organisms and tissues, there is still a need for reliable and sensitive bioindicators in aquatic environments. In the present pilot study, calcified structures in fish were applied as indicators of metal exposure in combination with commonly used fish soft tissues and intestinal parasites,...

Once present in aquatic environment, metals may remain dissolved in the water as free ions, complexes and colloids, or adsorbed by suspended particulate matter, both of which serve as pathways of uptake into benthic animals. In many freshwaters, bivalves have a key role as filter- feeding, sediment-dwelling animals. The lower course of the Mrežnica...

Mrežnica River is karst Croatian river included in ecological network of European Union NATURA 2000 which protects important areas for preservation of species and types of habitats. However, its lower course has been exposed to the impact of cotton industry for more than one hundred years, including release of metal polluted ash and slag material f...

Metallomics, a recently developed field of metal and metalloid research, focuses on the determination the distribution of metals in cells and tissues and their interactions with cellular components, in addition to the quantification of metals [1]. Mussels are generally recognised as useful biological indicators of aquatic pollution at both the orga...

Northern pike (family Esocidae) is an important fish for aquaculture and the fishing industry in Croatia. Despite its commercial significance, there is only limited information on the health status of this species in natural waters. Here we report the results of an initial evaluation of the health status of wild northern pike collected from 3 locat...

The METABIOM project was designed to detect the consequences of increased metal exposure in aquatic biota in the Mrežnica River at the site of historical contamination originating from the cotton industry in Duga Resa in comparison to upstream and downstream locations. In northern pike (Esox lucius), increased hepatic bioaccumulation was observed a...

The lower course of the Mrežnica River has long been exposed to different types of industrial loads. In Duga Resa, the cotton industry was active for more than a century, and a few kilometres downstream, industrial wastewaters of Karlovac entered the river until approximately a decade ago. Our aim was to determine the main inorganic and organic con...

Metals are common pollutants in aquatic systems, but they are also crucial for normal functioning of organisms. Freshwater bivalves, as filter- feeders, are suitable bioindicators of metal contamination but their accumulation capacity and intracellular distribution may vary by species. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the bioaccumula...

High metal contamination of aquatic ecosystems can have a huge impact on water quality and lead to series of health issues in aquatic organisms. The Mrežnica River, a Croatian karst river, has long been exposed to various types of industrial loads in its lower course. Freshwater mussels from family Unionidae, are benthic, filter-feeding organisms w...

Cytosolic distribution of six essential elements and nonessential Cd among biomolecules of different molecular masses was investigated in the intestine of brown trout (Salmo trutta) from the karst Krka River and Prussian carps (Carassius gibelio) from the lowland Ilova River. Fish were sampled at two locations (reference and contaminated) and in tw...

The application of invasive fish Prussian carp (Carassius gibelio Bloch, 1782) as bioindicator organism, using intestine as bioindicator tissue of anthropogenic influence in the lowland Ilova River was estimated. Intestinal tissue enables the investigation of dietborne metal uptake, so the first record on intestinal metal levels in Prussian carp wa...

The aim of the present study was to assess physico-chemical water parameters, granulometric sediment characteristics and concentrations of trace and macroelements in the water and sediments of the Ilova River. Samplings were conducted at three sampling sites (near villages Maslenjača, Ilova and Trebež) along the Ilova River, differing in the source...

Pigmented macrophage aggregates (MAs) are known to change under influence of various factors, such as aging, season, starvation, and/or pollution. In this study, changes in the pigment content of the MAs in the spleen of Vardar chub (Squalius vardarensis, Karaman) (n = 129) collected in spring and autumn, from three rivers with different pollution...

Prussian carp (Carassius gibelio) is an invasive freshwater fish known for its high tolerance to aquatic pollution. Our aim was to try to clarify its tolerance to increased exposure to metals/nonmetals, by determining their cytosolic distributions among peptides/proteins of different molecular masses (MM), which form a part of the fish protective m...

Environmental context Despite thallium’s high toxicity, water solubility and bioaccumulation tendency, its ecotoxicological relevance is largely unknown. We investigated thallium concentrations in fish, amphipods and parasitic worms from a karst freshwater ecosystem, and estimated total and cytosolic thallium concentrations in intestine of fish fro...

We investigated the level of five non-essential metal(loid)s (As, Cd, Hg, Tl, Pb) and nine essential metals (Mg, Ca, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, Se, Mo) in hair and blood components of captive and free-ranging European brown bear populations in Croatia and Poland. Metal(loid) associations with biomarkers of oxidative stress (superoxide dismutase, SOD; glut...

Application of metallothionein (MT) as an early warning sign of metal exposure in aquatic organisms is common in biomonitoring, but there is a huge variability in MT concentrations among different studies. Present research aims to assess MT responses in freshwater fish brown trout (Salmo trutta Linnaeus, 1758) and gammarids (Gammarus balcanicus Sch...

In order to assess the extent of existing anthropogenic influence on biota of the vulnerable karst ecosystem of the Krka River, multi biomarker approach was applied in the intestinal tissue of brown trout Salmo trutta Linnaeus, 1758. Biomarkers of the general stress (total cytosolic proteins), oxidative stress (malondialdehyde), antioxidant capacit...

Freshwater contamination with mining waste can result with high concentrations of toxic metals in the water and in fish organs. In North- Eastern Macedonia, several rivers (e.g., Zletovska, Kriva) are exposed to acid mine drainage from active Pb/Zn mines. Previous studies confirmed high concentrations of dissolved metals in their water. This study...

Present study aims to improve the modified Brdička procedure of metallothionein (MT) quantification in a way to reduce the analysis duration. Therefore, scan rate of the voltammetric sweep was increased from 0.0052 V s –1 to 0.013 V s –1 by lowering the duration of one step potential from 0.5 s to 0.2 s, which resulted in 2.5 times faster voltammet...

Selenium (Se) is an essential element for humans, animals, and certain lower plants, but can be toxic at high concentration. Even though Se is potentially toxic, little information is available about the effects of Se on soil animals. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of different concentrations of two Se forms, selenate and selenite,...

Mediterranean karst aquifers are sensitive systems vulnerable to contamination, exhibiting high rates of diversity and endemicity. In the present pilot-study, we aimed to detect the most suitable bioindicators of contaminant accumulation and mobilization within a Mediterranean karst river (Krka River, Croatia), whose lowermost sections belong to a...

The present study highlights the relevance of the assessment of soluble metal levels in gammarid tissue and its implementation as an early indicator of metal exposure in the freshwater habitats. Physico-chemical water properties in the Sutla River, an industrially/agriculturally influenced catchment in North-Western Croatia, indicated a disturbed e...

In the present study novel histopathological approach, using fish intestine as a sensitive bioindicator organ of pollution impact in the freshwater ecosystem, was proposed. Histopathological alterations were compared between native brown trout (Salmo trutta Linnaeus, 1758) from the reference (Krka River spring) and pollution impacted location (infl...

Cytosolic distributions of nonessential metals Cd and Tl and seven essential elements among compounds of different molecular masses were studied in the liver of brown trout (Salmo trutta) from the karstic Krka River in Croatia. Analyses were done by size exclusion high performance liquid chromatography and high resolution inductively coupled plasma...

Exceptional natural value of karst rivers, as well as their potential as a source of drinking water supply, contributes to the importance of developing strict environmental protection. Although most of its watercourse is proclaimed national park, Krka River is impacted by technological and municipal wastewaters, which are released without proper pu...

Total and cytosolic concentrations of twenty metals/metalloids in the liver of brown trout Salmo trutta (Linnaeus, 1758) were studied in the period from April 2015 to May 2016 at two sampling sites on Croatian river Krka, to establish if river water contamination with metals/metalloids downstream of Knin town has influenced metal bioaccumulation in...

Lipid peroxidation product, malondialdehyde (MDA), was studied in Vardar chub(Squalius vardarensis Karaman) as indicator of oxidative stress, using native fish from three rivers in northern Macedonia: mining impacted Zletovska and Kriva rivers, and agriculturally impacted Bregalnica River. MDA concentrations were measured in the intestine in spring...

Pollution with heavy metals may influence the immune system of fish, leading to impairment of their health or even increase their mortality. The fish kidney is one of the first fish organs to be affected by water contamination. Amounts of kidney macrophages (MACs), which are involved in fish immune response, as well as the qualitative and quantitat...

Levels of elements in brown bear (Ursus arctos) blood are unknown. Previously, we discovered that brown bears in Croatia have the highest tissue levels of toxic metals among hunted terrestrial wild mammals. However, associations with other related biomarkers of exposure and/or effect have not been studied. Considering that oxidative stress has been...

Increased levels of metallothionein (MT) have recently been found in the blood serum of men with newly diagnosed testicular germ cell tumors (TGCT). In light of previously published results, the aim of this study was to investigate the difference in serum MT levels among patients with different stages of TGCT and compare MT with commonly used marke...

Many natural freshwater ecosystems, especially in the north eastern Macedonia, are polluted with heavy metals, which are released by active mines. Long-term exposure to high levels of dissolved metals might result in increased metal bioaccumulation in organs of aquatic organisms, and consequently might cause various sub-toxic and toxic effects. The...

The present study was undertaken to obtain a better understanding of the seasonal variability of total dissolved metal/metalloid levels and physicochemical parameters within small- to medium-size freshwater ecosystems in temperate climate region. The research was conducted in four seasons in the Sutla River, medium-size polluted, and the Črnomerec...

Metals present one of the major contamination problems for freshwater systems, such as the Sava River, due to their high toxicity, persistence, and tendency to accumulate in sediment and living organisms. The comprehensive assessment of the metal bioavailability in the Sava River encompassed the analyses of dissolved and DGT-labile metal species of...

Quantification of histopathological alterations in the gills of Vardar chub (Squalius vardarensis Karaman) was performed in 2012 in rivers of north-eastern Macedonia, with the aim to examine the effects of water quality in the rivers (Zletovska and Kriva River - impacted by active Pb/Zn mines ; Bregalnica River - contaminated by agricultural waste)...

Here we report the genetic variability and presence of mtDNA-like sequences of P. laevis from the chub, Squalius cephalus, caught at the sampling sites along the Sava River and its tributary the Sutla River in Croatia. Sequences of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene of the recovered P. laevis specimens were used for haplotype network con...

Metallothioneins (MTs) have been disclosed as a useful diagnostic factor for tumour progression and drug resistance in a variety of malignancies. Increased levels of MT in blood serum have been found in patients with several types of cancer, but there is no available information on serum MT levels in patients with testicular germ cell tumour (TGCT)...

Pollution of surface water presents the major ecological problem in developed industrial world. Various human activities lead to the deterioration of water quality and mining presents one of those impacts. This need for resources has been proven to have extremely negative influence on all biological as well as physico-chemical characteristics of wa...

Anthropogenic activities increase discharge of different pollutants in the aquatic environment which cause deterioration of the environment. Mining activities release in the environment different inorganic species and metals, which has negative effects on the water quality, aquatic organisms and humans. Aquatic organisms are affected by metal conce...

Contamination of surface waters is a world-wide environmental problem. Anthropogenic activities like industry and mining can increase metal concentrations in the surface waters and may result in significant deterioration of water quality. Microorganisms are commonly used as biological indicators of surface water conditions. Microorganisms respond r...

Fish parasites with a complex life cycle, including intermediate and paratenic hosts, can be used as indicators of aquatic environmental stress. Their identification is however often difficult, due to the high level of intraspecific variability. The aim of the present study was to identify metazoan parasites found in Vardar chub (Squalius vardarens...

In the past decades, the interrelation between parasites and contaminants has gained increasing interest, especially in aquatic ecotoxicology. Fish intestinal parasites, acanthocephalans, were reported to effectively accumulate metals in concentrations that are orders of magnitude higher than those in the commonly used indicator organisms like fish...

Mining activity can seriously affect the quality of surface water, especially regarding the levels of trace elements, which present a serious threat to the aquatic organisms because of their toxicity, persistence and bioaccumulation. The aim of this study was to assess bioavailability of metals and metalloids in the river water based on their accum...

Fish are frequently selected as the organisms of choice in aquatic biomonitoring due to their top position in the biotic communities and their sensitivity to low concentrations of environmental pollutants. Among other pollutants, metals represent a serious threat to the aquatic environment, since they are not biodegradable and can accumulate in the...

Metallothionein (MT) and total cytosolic protein (TP) concentrations were determined as biomarkers of water contamination in gill and hepatic cytosols of Vardar chub (Squalius vardarensis) caught in three rivers in north-eastern Macedonia, one agriculturally impacted (Bregalnica) and two mining impacted (Zletovska and Kriva), in spring (May/June) o...

Several metals, such as Co, Cu, Fe, and Zn, are essential micronutrients required for wide selection of physiological processes in living organisms. However, both essential metals and nonessential metals, such as Cd, Pb, and V, can be toxic, depending on their concentrations. As a response to increased metal exposure, binding of metals to various c...

Disturbed natural balance as a result of significant pollution pressure by mining activities has been already reported for the major waterways in the Republic of Macedonia. An exceeded metal concentration in the aquatic environment has the potential to induce serious harm in wild organisms, to impair their health, condition, reproduction or their h...

The present field study, conducted during the spawning period (April/May) of European chub (Squalius cephalus L.) from the Sava River in Croatia, indicates that seasonal changes of fish physiological state might cause variability in gastrointestinal metal (Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn and Zn), total cytosolic protein and metallothionein (MT) levels. During the p...

The assessment of general condition of fish in the moderately contaminated aquatic environment was performed on the European chub (Squalius cephalus) caught in September 2009 in the Sutla River in Croatia. Although increases of the contaminants in this river (trace and macro elements, bacteria), as well as physico-chemical changes (decreased oxygen...

This comprehensive field survey on indigenous European chub (Squalius cephalus L.) presents, for the first time, site-specific variability of trace metal concentrations in the gut content, gastrointestinal tissue and two gastrointestinal sub-cellular fractions, operationally defined as metal-sensitive fraction (S50, which was isolated at 50,000 × g...

The study presented here reports for the first time cytosolic metal and protein levels in the gastrointestinal tissue of field-collected European chub (Squalius cephalus), living in low metal-contaminated river section. In two sub-cellular fractions (untreated cytosol and heat-treated cytosol), isolated from the whole gastrointestinal tract of indi...

The aim of this study was to compare the level of metal contamination in two bays in the middle part of the Eastern Adriatic coastal zone in Croatia using the gills of mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis as indicator tissue. Despite the existing sources of contamination, previous studies with caged mussels only indicated moderate metal contamination...

The structural requirements relevant for protective efficacy against cisplatin-induced renal toxicity was studied for seven newly synthesized pyrazolone compounds. Since tetrahydroindazolonedicarboxylic acid (HIDA) has shown potential nephroprotective efficacy, our study involved HIDA derivatives with specific modifications of functional groups. Py...

The present study compares metallothionein (MT) and metal (Zn, Cu, Cd) variations in liver cytosol of feral fish Mullus barbatus and Merluccius merluccius as a function of fish reproductive cycle. The fish were sampled in the spawning (Merluccius merluccius, European hake), as well as pre- and post-spawning period (Mullus barbatus, red mullet) in t...

Dietary metal exposure in fish is studied in native red mullet, Mullus barbatus, involving metallothionein (MT) response in the intestine, a primary site for metal uptake. Intestinal MTs (microg mg(-1) proteins), total proteins (mgml(-1) S50), Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn and Cd (microg ml(-1) S50) are considered as indicators of metal exposure in specimens from...

Metallothionein (MT) and metal (Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn, Cd) association in the cytosol of liver, kidney and intestine was studied on native Mullus barbatus specimens. Investigated parameters of all specimens (1 to 8-year-old) were related to the fish length, which reflects fish growth and aging. Cytosolic metal concentrations in liver, kidney and intestine...

Metallothionein (MT) and metal (Zn, Cu, Fe, Mn, Cd) association in the cytosol of liver, kidney and intestine was studied on native Mullus barbatus specimens. Investigated parameters of all specimens (1 to 8-year-old) were related to the fish length, which reflects fish growth and aging. Cytosolic metal concentrations in liver, kidney and intestine...

The levels of metallothionein (MT), a biomarker of metal exposure, and of cytosolic metals (Zn, Cu, Cd), known as MT inducers, were investigated as variables of age (1 to 8 years) and tissue mass (liver, kidney, brain) of red mullet (Mullus barbatus). Within the age from 1 to 8 years the most significant increase is evident for cytosolic Cd in live...

A study was made of seasonal and spatial variability of metallothionein (MT) concentrations, determined spectrophotometrically in the soluble fraction of the digestive gland of mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis, collected between 1999 and 2001 from several coastal and estuarine locations along the central Eastern Adriatic coast (Croatia). The seaso...

Metals, which are introduced to the coastal areas of the aquatic ecosystem, are distributed between water, sediments and organisms. Determination of metals in every of these aquatic compartments has certain disadvantages. It is important to know, besides total metal concentration, chemical forms of metals and their impact on the organisms, and also...

Two wild fish populations (Mullus surmuletus (striped red mullet) as a bottom, and Liza aurata (golden grey mullet) as a pelagic species, were sampled in Kastela Bay, Middle Dalmatia. Metallothionein (MT) and metal content (Cu, Zn, Cd) was determined in heat-treated supernatants (S50) of fish tissues. MT levels were statistically different in liver...