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Arsenic Exposure Affects Embryo Development of Sea Urchin, Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1816)

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Abstract

Toxicity tests were performed with embryos of Paracentrotus lividus to investigate the toxicological effect of two arsenic species: arsenate (AsV), expected to be more toxic, and dimethyl-arsinate (DMA) expected to be less toxic. Exposures to toxicants were performed at different developmental stages in order to identify the most sensitive phase of embryological development. Statistical analysis revealed a high significance of each factor (Molecule, Concentration and Time of exposure) and their interaction for the dependent variable “Percentage of normal-shaped plutei”. In particular, the 8 cell stage was the most sensitive to arsenic; at a concentration of 50 μg L−1 DMA proved to be more toxic than AsV, resulting in nearly 50 % of normal-shaped plutei against the 74 % recorded for AsV. Starting the administration of arsenic at the morula stage, arsenate proved to be significantly more toxic when compared to DMA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), STS Livorno, Piazzale dei Marmi, 57123, Livorno, Italy

    Andrea Gaion & David Pellegrini

  2. Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell’Ambiente, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Edificio 3, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131, Ancona, Italy

    Alice Scuderi

  3. Centro interdipartimentale di ricerche per la gestione delle risorse idrobiologiche e per l’acquacoltura (CRIAcq), Parco Gussone-Edif. 77, Via Università 100, 80055, Portici, NA, Italy

    Davide Sartori

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  1. Andrea Gaion
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  2. Alice Scuderi
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  3. David Pellegrini
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  4. Davide Sartori
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Correspondence to Andrea Gaion.

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Gaion, A., Scuderi, A., Pellegrini, D. et al. Arsenic Exposure Affects Embryo Development of Sea Urchin, Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1816). Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 91, 565–570 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-013-1098-0

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