DNA Damage and Heavy Metal Content in the Mussel, Brachiodontes exustus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Mollusca: Mytilidae), from the Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (JBERR), Salinas and Guayama, Puerto Rico 1

Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (JBNERR) is located on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. Here, the mussel Brachiodontes exustus (Mollusca: Mytilidae) is abundant on mangrove roots. DNA damage levels in B. exustus mantle cells (measured using the comet assay at pH ~ 13) and metal concentrations in the remaining soft tissues (analyzed by atomic absorption spectroscopy) were measured at four sites in JBNERR. The lowest DNA damage levels were detected at the site closest to the open ocean. However, the DNA damage levels of B. exustus mantle tissue was consistently higher at the site closest to a thermoelectric power plant. These elevated damage levels could have been caused by the presence of genotoxic conditions at this site.