Cytotoxicity and genotoxicity evaluation of urban surface waters using freshwater luminescent bacteria Vibrio-qinghaiensis sp.-Q67 and Vicia faba root tip

Cytotoxicity and genotoxicity evaluation of chloroform using Vicia faba roots

Chloroform is a widely used industrial chemical that can also pollute the environment. The aims of this study were to examine the potential cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of chloroform on plant cells, using the Vicia faba bioassay. Chloroform was evaluated at concentrations of 0.1, 0.5, 1, 2, and 5 mg·L-1. The following parameters were analyzed: the mitotic index (MI), micronucleus (MN) frequency, chromosomal aberration (CA) frequency, and malondialdehyde (MDA) content. The results showed that exposure to increasing concentrations of chloroform caused a decrease in MI and an increase in the frequency of MN in Vicia faba root tip cells, relative to their controls. Moreover, various types of CA, including C-mitosis, fragments, bridges, laggard chromosomes, and multipolar mitosis, were observed in the treated cells. The frequency of MN was positively correlated with the frequency of CA in exposure to 0.1-1 mg·L-1 chloroform. Furthermore, chloroform exposure induced membrane lipid peroxidation damage in the Vicia faba radicle, and a linear correlation was observed between the MDA content and the frequency of MN or CA. These findings indicated that chloroform exposure can result in oxidative stress, cytotoxicity, and genotoxicity in plant cells.

Evaluating the biotoxicity of surface water in a grassy lake in North China

The biological toxicity of aquatic ecosystems should be considered when assessing the effects of toxicity on the water environment. The aim of this study was to identify the main pollutants in the Baiyangdian (BYD) and the factors that contribute to biological toxicity. We determined various physical and chemical indicators in the surface water of the BYD, including nutrients and heavy metals, and the biological toxicity. We also explored the sources of the main pollutants and how the pollutants contributed to toxicity in the lake, using correlation analysis and an index of the biological toxicity. The results showed that total nitrogen (TN), ammoniacal nitrogen (NH₄⁺-N), chromium (Cr), and zinc (Zn) were the main pollutants in the BYD surface water. The average concentration of Cr was 2.3 times greater than the Class V threshold, and the concentrations at about 65% of the sampling points, mainly those in the southern part of the BYD, exceeded the threshold standard. The average concentration of Zn was 1.25 times higher than the Class V threshold, with the concentrations of about 35% of the samples greater than the threshold concentration. The integrated toxicity of the surface water to luminescent bacteria ranged from 0.51% to 58%, and averaged 24.07%, which was within the range of moderate toxicity. The inhibition rates were high near Diantou (59%) and Duan (51.6%). The pollutant levels in the BYD tend to be related to the population density, with pollution mainly caused by sewage and domestic garbage, with little influence from local industries. Cr and TN were strongly correlated, but the biological toxicity was not correlated with any of the individual environmental indicators, which suggests that the toxicity in the surface water of the BYD reflected the combined effects of the environmental factors, rather than a single factor. The information from this study, about the main pollutants and the relationships between the physical and chemical properties of the surface water in the BYD, can be used to support plans for restoring the BYD.

Molecular and cytogenetic assessment of Dipterygium glaucum genotoxicity

The aim of the present study is to assess the genotoxicity of Dipterygium glaucum grows widely in Saudi Arabia desert to produce safety herbal products. This work is considered the first and pioneer report so far due to the lack and poor evaluated reports of the plant species for their mutagensity, genotoxicity and cytogenetics effects. Cytogenetic effects of D. glaucum on mitotic in roots of Vicia faba showed reduction in mitotic activity using three extracts; water, ethanol and ethyl acetate. Chromosomal abnormalities were recorded that included stickiness of chromosomes, chromatin bridge, fragments, lagging chromosome and micronuclei. Protein bands and RAPD analyses of V. faba treated with three D. glaucum extracts revealed some newly induced proteins and DNA fragments and other disappeared. Chemical constitution of the plant species should be identified with their biological activities against human and animal cells like HeLa cancer cell line. We are recommending using additional genotoxicity tests and other toxicity tests on animal culture with different concentrations and also utilizing several drought and heat tolerant genes of the plant species in gene cloning to develop and improve other economical crop plants instead of using the species as oral herbal remedy.

Performance of a pilot demonstration-scale hybrid constructed wetland system for on-site treatment of polluted urban river water in Northwestern China

Hybrid constructed wetland (HCW) systems have been used to treat various wastewaters across the world. However, large-scale applications of HCWs are scarce, particularly for on-site improvement of the water quality of highly polluted urban rivers in semi-arid regions. In this study, a large pilot-scale HCW system was constructed to improve the water quality of the Zaohe River in Xi'an, China. With a total area of about 8000 m(2), the pilot HCW system, composed of different configurations of surface and subsurface flow wetlands, was operated for 2 years at an average inflow volume rate of 362 m(3)/day. Local Phragmites australis and Typha orientalis from the riverbank were planted in the HCW system. Findings indicate a higher treatment efficiency for organics and suspended solids than nutrients. The inflow concentrations of 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), suspended solids (SS), total nitrogen (TN), NH3-N, and total phosphorus (TP) were 125.6, 350.9, 334.2, 38.5, 27.2, and 3.9 mg/L, respectively. Average removal efficiencies of 94.4, 74.5, 92.0, 56.3, 57.5, and 69.2%, respectively, were recorded. However, the pollutant removal rates were highly seasonal especially for nitrogen. Higher removals were recorded for all pollutants in the autumn while significantly lower removals were recorded in the winter. Plant uptake and assimilation accounted for circa 19-29 and 16-23% of the TN and TP removal, respectively. Moreover, P. australis demonstrated a higher nutrient uptake ability and competitive potential. Overall, the high efficiency of the pilot HCW for improving the water quality of such a highly polluted urban river provided practical evidence of the applicability of the HCW technology for protecting urban water environments.

Potential contribution of inorganic ions to whole effluent acute toxicity and genotoxicity during sewage tertiary treatment

Two acute toxicity tests (luminescent bacteria assay and cladoceran assay) and one genotoxicity test (broad bean assay) were used to evaluate whole effluent toxicity during the standard anion exchange resin-based pilot-scale sewage tertiary treatment that stably achieved significant dissolved organic carbon and inorganic ions reduction. The effect of six representative inorganic ions (i.e., Cl(-), SO4(2-), NO3(-)-N, NO2(-)-N, NH4(+)-N and PO4(3-)-P) on the acute toxicity and genotoxicity was further investigated. Significant whole effluent genotoxicity reduction was observed as an ∼ 57% micronucleated cell frequency reduction and ∼ 46% mitotic index increment during the pilot-scale periods, which should be attributed to significant organic removal since no significant (p ≥ 0.116) increase in genotoxicity was observed with the increase in these ionic concentrations. However, no significant (p ≥ 0.14) reductions were observed for whole effluent acute toxicity using two acute toxicity assays during the pilot-scale periods, and these inorganic ions, especially NH4(+)-N, contributed considerably to the acute toxicity. Based on Pearson correlation coefficients, whole effluent acute toxicity showed significant positive (p < 0.001, r ≥ 0.758) correlations with the NH4(+)-N concentration. Two optimal models were finally developed using step-wise multiple linear regression to predict the whole effluent acute toxicity via NH4(+)-N concentrations.

Characteristics of concentration-inhibition curves of individual chemicals and applicability of the concentration addition model for mixture toxicity prediction

The concentration addition (CA) model has been widely applied to predict mixture toxicity. However, its applicability is difficult to evaluate due to the complexity of interactions among substances. Considering that the concentration-response curve (CRC) of each component of the mixture is closely related to the prediction of mixture toxicity, mathematical treatments were used to derive a characteristic index kECx (k was the slope of the tangent line of a CRC at concentration ECx). The implication is that the CA model would be applicable for predicting the mixture toxicity only when chemical components have similar kECx in the whole or part of the concentration range. For five selected chemicals whose toxicity was detected using luminescent bacteria, sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) showed much higher kECx values than the others and its existence in the binary mixtures brought about overestimation of the mixture toxicity with the CA model. The higher the mass ratio of SDBS in a multi-mixture was, the more the toxicity prediction deviated from measurements. By applying the method proposed in this study to analyze some published data, it is confirmed that some components having significantly different kECx values from the other components could explain the large deviation of the mixture toxicity predicted by the CA model.

Toxicity of surface water from Huangpu River to luminous bacteria (Vibrio qinghaiensis SP. Q67) and zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos

Degradation of water quality is an emerging problem in many developing countries. Bioassay is an effective approach to monitor quality of water in aquatic environments. Studies have used luminescent bacteria and zebrafish embryos as bioassay tools in monitoring river water quality. In this study, luminous bacteria (Vibrio qinghaiensis sp. Q67) assay and zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo toxicity test were performed to assess the ecotoxicity of surface water from the Huangpu River, China, collected during 2012-2013. River water samples inhibited the luminescence [inhibition rates 0-34.6% (±4.82%)] of Q67 and increased the lethal rates and induced morphological abnormalities in zebrafish embryos. The toxicity to luminous bacteria and zebrafish embryos were higher in winter than in summer months. In addition, samples collected in industrial area, urban sampling sites near drainage outlets, and at the intersection of the tributary that flows into the Huangpu River showed higher toxicity.

Toxicity of urban highway runoff in Shanghai to Zebrafish (Danio rerio ) embryos and luminous bacteria (Vibrio qinghaiensis.Q67)

Pollution from urban highway runoff has been identified as one of the major causes of the deterioration of receiving water quality. The purpose of this study is to assess the toxicity of urban storm water samples in Shanghai using the zebrafish (Danio rerio ) embryo test and the bacterial luminescence (Vibrio qinghaiensis ) assay. The toxicity of highway runoff from seventeen storm events was investigated in both grab and composite samples. Zebrafish embryos were exposed to the runoff samples and development parameters including lethality, spontaneous movements in 20 s, heart beat rate, hatching rate, and abnormality of zebrafish embryos were observed after 24, 48, 72, and 96 h of exposure. Inhibition rates of luminescence intensity were also recorded. The results showed that in the zebrafish embryo toxicity tests, both grab and composite samples increased the lethality, reduced the percentage with spontaneous movements and heart beats, inhibited the hatching of embryos, and induced morphological abnormalities. In the Vibrio qinghaiensis toxicity test, all the grab samples inhibited the luminescence, while some of the composite samples promoted it, which indicated that different types of toxicants might have been affecting the species. The multivariate statistics analysis indicated that heavy metal (zinc, manganese, and copper) and PAHs might mainly contribute to the toxicity of runoff samples.

Bioassay based luminescent bacteria: interferences, improvements, and applications

Due to the merits of being time-saving, cost effective and simple operation, the luminescent bacteria toxicity assay (LBTA) has been widely used for environmental pollution monitoring. Based on numerous studies since 2007, this critical review aims to give an overview on the mechanisms, developments and applications of LBTA. Firstly, based on the introduction of the mechanisms of LBTA, this review shows the interferences from the characteristics of testing samples (such as inorganic nutrients, color, turbidity) and summarizes the improvements on pretreatment method, test methods and test systems in recent years. Regarding the factors that affect the toxicity prediction of single chemicals, the correlation between the toxicity index expressed as median effective concentration (EC50) and characters (such as Kow, the alkyl chain length, the anion and the cation) of known chemicals, especially the emerging ionic liquids (ILs), were given an in-depth discussion. The models for predicting the joint effect of mixtures to luminescent bacteria were also presented. For the factors that affect the toxicity of actual waters, the correlation of toxicity of actual samples to luminescent bacteria and their conventional indexes were discussed. Comparing the sensitivity of the LBTA with other bioassays could indicate the feasibility of the LBTA applied on specific samples. The summary on the application of LBTA to environmental samples has been made to find the future research direction.

Reverse osmosis pretreatment method for toxicity assessment of domestic wastewater using Vibrio qinghaiensis sp.-Q67

Luminescent bacterial test is a fast and sensitive method for acute toxicity assessment of water and wastewater. In this study, an improved toxicity testing method was developed using the freshwater luminescent bacteria Vibrio qinghaiensis sp.-Q67 that involved pretreatment of water samples with reverse osmosis (RO) to eliminate the interferences caused by nutrients in concentrated samples and to improve the reliability and sensitivity of the analysis. Because water samples contain low concentrations of several target toxic substances, rapid acute toxicity testing method that is commonly employed does not achieve enough sensitivity. The proposed RO pretreatment could effectively enrich organic and inorganic substances in water samples to enable a more effective and sensitive toxicity evaluation. The kinetic characteristics of toxicity of raw sewage and secondary effluent were evaluated based on the relative luminescence unit (RLU) curves and time-concentration-effect surfaces. It was observed that when the exposure time was prolonged to 8-h or longer, the bacteria reached the logarithmic growth stage. Hence, the stimulating effects of the coexisting ions (such as Na(+), K(+), NO3(-)) in the concentrated samples could be well eliminated. A 10-h exposure time in proposed Q67 test was found to quantitatively evaluate the toxicity of the organic and inorganic pollutants in the RO-concentrated samples.