The link between antioxidant enzymes catalase and glutathione S-transferase and physiological condition of a control population of terrestrial isopod (Porcellio scaber)

Transcriptomic profiling reveals the immune response mechanism of the Thamnaconus modestus induced by the poly (I:C) and LPS

Aquatic animals immune response to pathogenic is a hotspot and related to high-quality development of aquaculture industry and the conservation of fisheries resources. Thamnaconus modestus is an important commercial and economical species which is suffering from various pathogens but by now lack relevant research about revealing the immune response mechanism to the pathogens invasion. In the study, the polyriboinosinic polyribocytidylic acid [poly (I:C)] and Lipopolysaccharides (LPS), respective mimics of viral and bacterial infections, were used to demonstrate the immune response of the species via transcriptome analysis. The results showed that T. modestus had sensitive responses to the viral analog infection at 6 h and 48 h, and at 6 h, the first five major functional genes were NFKBIA, IL1B, JUN, IGH, FOS, and at 48 h, the genes were NFKBIA, IL1B, JUN, IGH, FOS. The genes IL1B, IRF3, PTGS2, THBS1 could helping the fish to fight against the bacterial infection in both the times. Similarly for the bacterial infection, the species had a sensitive response at 6 h, and the first five major functional genes were NFKBIA, JUN, FOS, L1B, GRIN2C. Our study provided an insight about the immune response mechanism of this species and demonstrated that if need for treatment of the virus and bacteria by the biotechnology, the artificial interferential time would be suggested before 6 h since the pathological features occur and the genes NFKBIA, JUN, IL1B, FOS, TRAF2, IL8, SOCS3, PTGS2 should be payed more attention.

Physiological and behavioral responses of Orchestia gammarellus (Amphipoda, Talitridae) towards trace elements contamination soil

Effects of trace elements on the hepatopancreas ultrastructure and on the locomotor activity rhythm were investigated in the amphipod talitrid Orchestia gammarellus collected from Bizerte lagoon banks situated in the north of Tunisia. Animals were exposed to a series of contaminated soil with different concentrations of cadmium and zinc. The locomotor activity rhythm was studied under constant darkness. Histopathological analysis showed that the trace elements, especially the Cd, induced significant changes in the morphology and in the ultrastructural organization of hepatopancreatic cells. The significant alterations obtained were dose dependent. Concerning the behavioral response, results revealed the presence of two components whatever the experimental conditions. In addition, a great inter-individual variability of the locomotor rhythm was observed. Patterns were in majority bimodal for the control individuals and became unimodal and multimodal when exposed under Cd and Zn, respectively. Furthermore, ultradian and circadian periods were determined. The circadian period lengthened after Zn exposure. In addition, the locomotor activity rhythm was more stable for control individuals. However, those exposed to Cd were less active.

The Effect of Urbanization on Trace Element Concentration and Symmetry of Woodlice (Armadillidium vulgare Latreille, 1804)

Woodlice are top consumers of a three-trophic system (soil, leaf litter, woodlice), and they are closely related to pollutant absorbing surfaces such as soil, leaf litter, and organic matter. We studied the effects of urbanization on trace element concentrations and fluctuating asymmetry of Armadillidium vulgare (Crustacea: Isopoda) individuals in and around Debrecen city, Hungary. Along an urbanization gradient (urban, suburban, and rural areas), trace element concentrations (Ba, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, and Zn) of woodlice and bioconcentration factor (BCF) were analyzed. Asymmetry was also measured in metric traits of woodlice: the length of three segments of antennae, the body length, and the width of the 3rd segment of pereon. We found significant differences in Ba and Cu concentration of A. vulgare individuals along the urbanization gradient. The highest Cu concentration was found in woodlice from the urban area and the highest Ba concentration was found in the individuals from the rural area. The Ba concentration was higher in females than in males. The BCF values of Cu indicated that A. vulgare accumulated this element from soil and leaf litter. There was no significant difference in symmetry of the bilateral traits of woodlice along the urbanization gradient based on FA levels. Our results showed that the urbanization had remarkable effect on the Ba and Cu concentration of woodlice which were originated from traffic pollution. At the same time, the anthropogenic activities did not affect the symmetry of the tested traits of A. vulgare individuals.

Toxicological effects and oxidative stress responses in freshwater snail, Lanistes carinatus, following exposure to chlorpyrifos

Chlorpyrifos is a widely used organophosphorous pesticide in agriculture and environmental health. Laboratory studies of chlorpyrifos have revealed acute lethal toxicity at very low concentration (96-h LC50) of 0.39 μg L(-1) to the freshwater snail, Lanistes carinatus. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition progressed and reached 52% and 78% of the control after 28-d exposure to 0.09 and 0.29 μg L(-1) chlorpyrifos, respectively. Catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activities increased in comparison to control group in the first period of exposure (7-21 d), then decreased relative to the control in the second period of exposure (21-28 d). A significant (p<0.05) glutathione (GSH) depletion was observed in snails exposed to 0.09 and 0.29 μg L(-1) in comparison to the control, whereas malondialdehyde (MDA) content gradually increased in a dose-dependent manner. This study showed that alterations in antioxidant enzyme activities along with depletion of GSH content and elevation of MDA content can be used as biomarkers in environmental assessment programs.

Altered physiological conditions of the terrestrial isopod Porcellio scaber as a measure of subchronic TiO2 effects

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (nano-TiO2) show low toxic potential against a variety of environmental organisms when measured by conventional toxicity endpoints. However, the question is whether the conventional measures of toxicity can define the adverse effects of nanoparticles. The aim of this study was to asses the potential toxic and cytotoxic effects of the ingested nano-TiO2 (anatase, <25 nm) on a terrestrial isopod, Porcellio scaber. In addition to conventional toxicity parameters, the physiological condition of the animals was assessed. Following 28-day feeding exposure to nano-TiO2 at concentrations up to 5,000 μg nano-TiO2/g leaf dry weight, no toxic or cytotoxic effects were demonstrated. However, the physiological condition of the animals was affected in a dose-dependent manner. The physiological state of organisms is an important parameter to assess the potential population implications due to the exposure to nanomaterials. Therefore, we suggest that only if both, the physiological state of the animals exposed to nano-TiO2 and the conventional toxicity markers show no effects, the exposure dose can be interpreted as non-hazardous.

Biomarkers and energy reserves in the isopod Porcellionides pruinosus: the effects of long-term exposure to dimethoate

Terrestrial isopods from the species Porcellionides pruinosus were exposed to the recommended field dose application (0.4 mg/kg soil) and a sublethal concentration (10mg/kg soil) of dimethoate at two temperatures that can be generally found in several countries (20°C and 25°C) and are commonly used as reference temperatures. The organisms were exposed for 28 days and sampled at the following time points: 24h, 48 h, 96 h, 7 days, 14 days, 21 days, 28 days; organisms were then changed to clean soil for a recovery period of 14 days during which organisms were sampled on day 35 and 42. For each sampling time, the enzyme activities of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), glutathione-S-transferases (GST), catalase (CAT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were determined as well as the following: total lipid, carbohydrate and protein content; energy available (Ea); energy consumption (Ec); cellular energy allocation (CEA) and lipid peroxidation rate (LPO). The integrated biomarker response (IBR) was calculated for each sampling time and for each of the above parameters. Mortality was also recorded during the study. The results obtained showed that dimethoate causes toxicity by several mechanisms. This study found evidence for the inhibition of the acetylcholinesterase enzyme, which has been previously reported, and also evidence of oxidative stress, which altered the levels of GST, CAT or LPO. In addition, the study showed that the two concentrations used of dimethoate caused the activation of different general detoxification mechanisms, and also that the same concentration at different temperatures induced different toxicity responses.

Bioaccumulation of cadmium and lead and its effects on hepatopancreas morphology in three terrestrial isopod crustacean species

This study was designed to compare cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) bioaccumulation in three species of oniscidean isopods - Armadillidium granulatum Brandt, Armadillidium vulgare (Latreille) and Porcellio laevis Latreille which were exposed for three weeks to a contaminated diet, and to determine the morphological and ultrastructural changes in hepatopancreas. Metal accumulation, determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), was linearly associated with the exposed concentration and was a function of the metal and the species tested. All three species accumulated lower levels of Pb than Cd. A. vulgare accumulated the largest concentration of Pb, especially at the higher doses, whereas P. laevis showed the greatest Cd accumulation, and the highest Cd concentration was lethal for all exposed species. The highest concentrations of Pb and Cd induced significant changes both in the general morphology of tubules and in the ultrastructural organization of epithelial cells in hepatopancreas. Some Pb/Cd induced alterations include: brush border disorganization; reduction of the basal labyrinth formed by the plasma membrane; condensation of some cytoplasm areas and of chromatin; rough endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondrial alterations; increase of secondary lysosomes and of type B granules in S cells. Some of the ultrastructural changes observed overlap with those induced by prolonged starvation, whereas others can be useful biomarkers of heavy metal toxicity. This study has confirmed that in terrestrial isopods, the accumulation of the different metals occurs in a species-specific manner; therefore ecological monitoring and assessment studies should consider each species individually. The research has confirmed that in the terrestrial isopods the accumulation of the different metals occurs in a species-specific way; therefore each species should first be evaluated in view of its employ in biomonitoring programs.

Characterizing dose-responses of catalase to nitrofurazone exposure in model ciliated protozoan Euplotes vannus for ecotoxicity assessment: enzyme activity and mRNA expression

In environmental studies, some biological responses, known as biomarkers, have been used as a powerful bioassay tool for more than four decades. Disparity between enzyme activity and mRNA abundance leads to correlation equivocality, which makes the application of biomarkers for environmental risk assessment more complicated. This study investigates this disparity in the case of catalase when used as a biomarker for detecting ecotoxicity induced by antibiotics in aquatic ecosystems. In particular, dose-responses for catalase activity and mRNA expression abundance were investigated in Euplotes vannus which were exposed to graded doses of nitrofurazone for several discrete durations, and dose-response models were developed to characterize the dose-response dynamics. Significant differences were found in both catalase activity and mRNA expression abundance among the E. vannus treated with nitrofurazone. Catalase activity showed a hormetic-like effect in terms of dose-response, characterized by a biphasic relationship which was more clearly evident after a longer exposure period, while mRNA expression abundance increased linearly with the exposure duration. Additionally, the correlation between catalase activity and mRNA expression abundance reversed along with the duration of exposure to nitrofurazone. Taken together, our results demonstrate that catalase mRNA expression offers a more straightforward dose-response model than enzyme activity. Our findings suggest that both catalase enzyme activity and mRNA expression abundance can be used jointly as bioassay tools for detecting ecotoxicity induced by nitrofurazone in aquatic ecosystems.