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Impact of cadmium on the ecdysteroids production in Gammarus fossarum

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Abstract

Gammarus fossarum is an important test organism which is currently used as a bio-indicator as well as in ecotoxicological tests. Nevertheless, data on ecdysteroids in endocrine toxicity test are not yet available for these species, despite its crucial role in molting and reproduction. In the present paper, ecdysteroids concentrations were studied during the molt cycle (in females) and embryonic development in G. fossarum (Crustacea, Amphipoda) in order to propose an ecdysteroids toxicity test. Ecdysteroids levels in G. fossarum showed a single peak during premolt at stage Dl-D2. In embryos, ecdysteroids levels progressively increased over stages 3 and 4, with peak levels at stage 4. A Cadmium toxicity test was proposed to examine if the molting and embryogenesis disturbances previously observed after cadmium exposure (Geffard et al. 2010) could be attributed to changes in ecdysteroids titers. Exposure to the different cadmium concentrations (3; 9; 300; 900 µg/l) increased ecdysteroids secretion by Y-organs in vitro, but it had no significant effect on exposed embryos (in vivo). Based on previous findings, we are led to conclude that the molting impairments in cadmium-exposed females of G. fossarum is connected to the changes in ecdysteroids concentrations.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr. JP. Delbecque (University of Bordeaux) for giving antibodies and Dr René Lafont for provid-ing very helpful comments on revision of this manuscript. We received financial support from Irstea LYON: Milieux aquatiques, Ecologie et pollutions. Equipe Ecotox Villeurbanne France.

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  1. Sondes Abidi

    Present address: Unité d’hydrobiologie Littorale et Limnique, Laboratoire de Bio-surveillance de l’environnement, Faculté des Sciences de Bizerte, 7021, Jarzouna, Tunisia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Milieux aquatiques, Ecologie et pollutions. Equipe Ecotox, irstea, Lyon, Villeurbanne, France

    Sondes Abidi, Khedidja Tair Abbaci, Olivier Geffard & Jeanne Garric

  2. Unité d’hydrobiologie Littorale et Limnique, Laboratoire de Bio-surveillance de l’environnement, Faculté des Sciences de Bizerte, 7021, Jarzouna, Tunisia

    Moncef Boumaiza

  3. Laboratoire d‘Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Naturels et Anthropisés, Université Lyon 1 43, Bd du 11 novembre 1918, UMR 5023, Bât Darwin C étage 2, 69622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France

    Adeline Dumet & Nathalie Mondy

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  1. Sondes Abidi
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Abidi, S., Abbaci, K.T., Geffard, O. et al. Impact of cadmium on the ecdysteroids production in Gammarus fossarum . Ecotoxicology 25, 880–887 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-016-1645-7

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