Development of a larval bioassay using the calanoid copepod, Eurytemora affinis to assess the toxicity of sediment-bound pollutants.

Hydrophobic pollutants, in particular sediment-sorbed organic compounds, are widespread in the aquatic environment and could represent a threat to living organisms. Estuarine species, which live in turbulent ecosystems, are particularly exposed to this mode of contamination. For precise evaluation of the toxicity of hydrophobic contaminants desorbed from particles, a new larval assay using nauplii of the estuarine calanoid copepod Eurytemora affinis was developed. It consists of the direct exposure of copepods during naupliar development to elutriates of an unpolluted sediment spiked with different model contaminants. This bioassay measures the toxicity of the bioavailable fraction of particle-sorbed pollutants on the naupliar stage of copepods. Mortality and growth (non-invasive endpoints) in nauplii were analysed after six days of exposure. This approach was validated using six pollutants with different modes of action: benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), dimethylbenzo[a]anthracene (DMBA), phenanthrene (PHE), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB 126, PCB 153) and 4-nonylphenol (4-NP). All these compounds induced a dose-dependent increase in toxic effects. Lethal effects only occurred at the highest tested concentrations: 58,541 and 6092 ng g(-1) dry weight sediment (dws), for PHE and DMBA, respectively. Sublethal effects (growth inhibition) were observed at lower concentrations for all tested compounds except PCB 153, from 8, 142, 297, 6092 and 8453 ng g(-1) dws for PCB 126, BaP, PHE, DMBA and 4-NP, respectively.

A new spiked sediment assay using embryos of the Japanese medaka specifically designed for a reliable toxicity assessment of hydrophobic chemicals.

Despite their low water solubility, hydrophobic pollutants are widespread in the aquatic environment and could represent a threat for living organisms. EU regulations on chemicals require accurate and reliable data on chemical toxicity. Current normalised fish toxicity assays, in particular those advocated by OECD guidelines, do not allow reliable toxicity assessment of hydrophobic compounds due to their low water solubility. In order to accurately evaluate the toxicity of this kind of compounds, a new spiked sediment assay using embryos of the Japanese medaka was developed. It consists of directly exposing fertilised eggs, during their entire embryonic development, onto the reference sediment spiked with the test compound. A large set of lethal or sublethal effects in embryos and newly hatched larvae, including non-invasive endpoints is analysed in order to maximise the sensitivity of the test. The approach was validated using four model pollutants with different modes of action: DMBA, PCB126, PCB153 and 4-nonylphenol (NP). All compounds, except PCB153, induced a dose-dependent increase in toxic effects. In fact, lethal effects only occurred at the highest tested concentration. In contrast, sub-lethal effects including skeletal deformations, cardiac activity modulation, body length reduction and hatching delay were observed at low to moderate concentrations of DMBA and PCB126. NP induced subtle effects in embryos, altering cardiac activity and hatching success but only at high concentrations. Although a few more improvements would make it a fully standardised assay, this spiked sediment assay using medaka embryos proves to be sensitive enough to measure hydrophobic chemical toxicity using an environmentally realistic mode of exposure.

Detection of DNA damage in yolk-sac larvae of the Japanese Medaka, Oryzias latipes, by the comet assay.

This study was set up to determine the suitability of the early life stage (ELS) alkaline comet assay for the detection of DNA strand breaks induced by genotoxicants in whole organism. This assay was performed on cells of medaka 2 days posthatch (dph). An efficient procedure for cell dissociation using enzymatic and mechanical digestion was developed. This protocol ensures 80% viability of cells and low DNA damage background. Cells from 2 dph medaka larvae were exposed in vitro to model genotoxicants, hydrogen peroxide, cadmium, and fluoranthene, followed by comet assay analysis. Results show a significant increase in the percentage of DNA damage of dissociated cells by all the tested compounds when compared to controls. The assay was also performed in vivo on medaka larvae (2 dph) exposed for 24 h to waterborne cadmium or fluoranthene. Significant induction of DNA damage levels were observed following larvae exposure to cadmium and fluoranthene at concentrations of 0.1 and 50 µM, respectively. This study demonstrates that cells of embryo life stage medaka respond to known DNA damaging agents and that the ELS comet assay may be a useful biomarker to detect DNA strand breakage in whole body of pluricellular organism induced by a range of agents. This technique may provide a sensitive, nonspecific endpoint of genotoxicity as part of ELS toxicity test.