Search results for "BIOACCUMULATION"

2021

Abstract Contaminated soils are lands in Europe deemed less favourable for conventional agriculture. To overcome the problem of their poor fertility, bio-fertilization could be a promising approach. Soil inoculation with a choice of biological species (e.g. earthworm, mycorrhizal fungi, diazotroph bacteria) can be performed in order to improve soil properties and promote nutrients recycling. However, questions arise concerning the dynamics of the contaminants in an inoculated soil. The aim of this study was to highlight the soil-plant-earthworm interactions in the case of a slightly contaminated soil. For this purpose, a pot experiment in controlled conditions was carried out during 2 month…

Presence and biodistribution of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in Paracentrotus lividus highlight its potential application for environmental biomonit…

2021

AbstractThe first determination of presence and biodistribution of PFOA in ninety specimens of sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus from two differently contaminated sites along Palermo’s coastline (Sicily) is reported. Analyses were performed on the sea urchins’ coelomic fluids, coelomocytes, gonads or mixed organs, as well as on seawater and Posidonia oceanica leaves samples from the collection sites. PFOA concentration ranged between 1 and 13 ng/L in seawater and between 0 and 794 ng/g in P. oceanica. The analyses carried out on individuals of P. lividus from the least polluted site (A) showed PFOA median values equal to 0 in all the matrices (coelomic fluid, coelomocytes and gonads). Conver…

In vivo exposure of the marine sponge Chondrilla nucula Schmidt, 1862 to cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) and its potential use for bioremedia…

2018

Abstract The study aimed to test the cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) bioaccumulation capacity of the marine sponge Chondrilla nucula and to measure the expression of metallothioneins (MTs) by a western blotting assay to explore metal tolerance and its potential use as a bioremediator in contaminated coastal areas. C. nucula was sampled in a protected marine area in order to perform experiments on organisms living in a healthy environment. Under laboratory conditions, the sponges were exposed to increasing concentrations of Cd, Cu and Pb in tanks filled with artificial seawater set up for the experiments. For each metal, three waterborne concentrations (mgL−1) of Cd (0.02–0.04-0.08),…

Bioconcentration, biotransformation and elimination of pyrene in the arctic crustacean Gammarus setosus (Amphipoda) at two temperatures

2015

The influence of temperature on the bioaccumulation, toxicokinetics, biotransformation and depuration of pyrene was studied in the arctic marine amphipod Gammarus setosus. A two-compartment model was used to fit experimental values of total body burden, total metabolites and parent pyrene concentrations and to calculate toxicokinetic variables derived for two experimental treatments (2 and 8 °C). No statistically significant differences were observed with temperature for these toxicokinetic variables or bioconcentration factors. Contrarily, the Q10 values suggested that the toxicokinetic variables ke and km were temperature-dependent. This may be explained by the high standard deviation of …

Assessing the influence of confounding biological factors when estimating bioaccumulation of PCBs with passive samplers in aquatic ecosystems

2017

Passive samplers are promising surrogates for organisms, mimicking bioaccumulation. However, several biological characteristics disturb the passive partitioning process in organisms by accelerating or restraining bioaccumulation, resulting in species-specific body residues of hydrophobic organic contaminants (HOCs). In addition to site-specific characteristics and HOC concentrations, age, sex, diet, biotransformation capability and habitat-specific characteristics may affect body residues. Two passive sampler types, polyethylene (PE) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) were deployed in a PCB-contaminated freshwater lake water and sediment, respectively, to assess their bioaccumulation predictio…

Metabolic shift of polyphosphate-accumulating organisms with different levels of polyphosphate storage

2012

Previous studies have shown that polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs) are able to behave as glycogen-accumulating organisms (GAOs) under different conditions. In this study we investigated the behavior of a culture enriched with Accumulibacter at different levels of polyphosphate (poly-P) storage. The results of stoichiometric ratios Gly degraded/HAc uptake, PHB synthesized/HAc uptake, PHV synthesized/HAc uptake and P release/HAc uptake confirmed a metabolic shift from PAO metabolism to GAO metabolism: PAOs with high poly-P content used the poly-P to obtain adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP), and glycogen (Gly) to obtain nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and some ATP. In a test whe…

On the Ability of Perfluorohexane Sulfonate (PFHxS) Bioaccumulation by Two

2019

PFASs (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are highly fluorinated, aliphatic, synthetic compounds with high thermal and chemical stability as well as unique amphiphilic properties which make them ingredients in a range of industrial processes. PFASs have attracted consideration due to their persistence, toxicity and bioaccumulation tendency in the environment. Recently, attention has begun to be addressed to shorter-chain PFASs, such as perfluorohexane sulfonate [PFHxS], apparently less toxic to and more easily eliminated from lab animals. However, short-chain PFASs represent end-products from the transformation of fluorotelomers whose biotic breakdown reactions have not been ide…

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and trace metal contamination of coastal sediment and biota from Togo

2011

The state of contamination of tropical environments, particularly in Africa, remains a relatively under explored subject. Here, we determined polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and trace metal concentrations in coastal sediment and biota samples (fish and mussels) from Togo (West Africa). In the sediments, the ∑21 PAH concentrations ranged from4 ng g(-1) to 257 ng g(-1), averaging 92 ng g(-1). Concentration ratios of low molecular weight PAHs (2-3 rings) versus high molecular weight PAHs (≥4 rings) were always lower than 1 (ranging from 0.08 to 0.46) indicating that high molecular weight PAHs were dominant in all sediment samples, and that PAHs originated mainly from anthropogenic combus…

The biogeochemical cycle of mercury in the Augusta Bay

2014

Mercurial, the metaphor for volatile unpredictable behavior, aptly reflects the complexities of one of the most insidiously interesting and scientifically challenging biogeochemical cycles at the Earth’s surface. At the base of this toxic metal cycle there is the conversion between the different Hg chemical species, in which the balance between the reduced and oxidized forms depends primary on redox system conditions. The potential risks of human exposure to Hg, especially in the form of monomethylmercury (MMHg), particularly prenatally, and the potential deleterious ecological consequences from localized to global scale Hg pollution, have given much impetus to mercury studies and regulator…

Predicting the bioaccumulation of polyaromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorinated biphenyls in benthic animals in sediments

2016

There were two main objectives in this study. The first was to compare the accuracy of different prediction methods for the chemical concentrations of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the organism, based on the measured chemical concentrations existing in sediment dry matter or pore water. The predicted tissue concentrations were compared to the measured ones after 28-day laboratory test using oligochaeta worms (Lumbriculus variegatus). The second objective was to compare the bioaccumulation of PAHs and PCBs in the laboratory test with the in situ bioaccumulation of these compounds. Using the traditional organic carbon-water partitioning model, tissue…