Abstract
To estimate the influence of water contamination by arsenic (As) on reproduction of crustaceans in Vietnam, we collected wild freshwater crab Somanniathelphusa pax from the Mekong Delta area in Vietnam, investigated gonadal development, and measured As concentration in hepatopancreas. In female crab, vitellogenesis was delayed in association with the increase of As accumulation in hepatopancreas, whereas there was no significant correlation between testicular development and As accumulation in male crab. To clarify the effects of As on gonadal development of crustaceans, we investigated the effects of oral As administration on gonadal development in Japanese freshwater crab Geothelphusa dehaani. In male crab, the occurrence of spermatids and spermatozoa were predominantly observed in the control group, whereas the occurrence of spermatocytes increased after administration of 10 μg/crab As for 3 months. On the other hand, in females, secondary yolk globule stages mainly occupied ovary of the control group. However, the primary yolk globule stage gradually increased after 10 μg/crab As administration. Together these results indicate that it is possible that As contamination in water or food causes the delay of spermatogenesis and vitellogenesis in crustaceans.
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Acknowledgment
We thank Dr. T. Komai (Natural History Museum and Institute, Chiba, Japan) for the identification of the freshwater crab species S. pax used in this study. We also thank Mr. N. P. C. Tu and Ms. N. N. Ha (Nong Lam University, Vietnam) for technical assistance during the sampling, and Dr. Y. Ozaki (National Institute of Genetics, Japan) and Dr. H. Ohashi (Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Japan) for their advice regarding this study. This study was supported by the “Global COE Program” and the “Research Revolution 2002 (RR2002) Project for Sustainable Coexistence of Human, Nature and the Earth” of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of the Japanese government, and by a Grant-in-Aid from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
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Yamaguchi, S., Celino, F.T., Ito, A. et al. Effects of arsenic on gonadal development in freshwater crab, Somanniathelphusa pax, in Vietnam and Geothelphusa dehaani in Japan. Ecotoxicology 17, 772–780 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-008-0228-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-008-0228-7