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Contrasting Effects of Heavy Metals on Sponge Cell Behavior

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Abstract

Mediterranean coastal areas are highly contaminated by heavy metals, which have been reported to produce harmful effects in marine organisms. Sponges are particularly vulnerable to waterborne metals because they are able to process large amounts of water. Dissociated sponge cells can move in response to external stimuli, and the cell body changes shape through production of pseudopodia and phylopodia. We studied for first time the effects of heavy metals (cadmium copper and mercury) on motility and aggregation of isolated sponge cells. Cell shape was assessed by using several shape indices. The three metals studied induced changes of different sign on cell shape. Mercury arrested movement of sponge cells, which tended to be rounded, without pseudopodia. In contrast, moderate concentrations of copper and cadmium enhanced pseudopodia formation and cell motility. On the other hand, the three metals enhanced cell aggregation at the concentrations assayed. Our results show that sponge cells respond to metal pollution in different ways and that these responses can be assessed by calculating several shape indices.

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Acknowledgments

We thank R. Martí and G. Agell for helping in sampling and experimental procedures. This research was partially funded by grants from the CE (SPONGES project COOP-CT-205-017800) and the CICYT (Spain) (INTERGEN, CTM2004-05265/MAR).

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  1. Centre d’Estudis Avançats de Blanes, CSIC, C/ Accés a la Cala, St. Francesc s/n, 17300, Blanes, Girona, Spain

    Emma Cebrian & María Jesús Uriz

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  1. Emma Cebrian
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  2. María Jesús Uriz
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Correspondence to Emma Cebrian.

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Cebrian, E., Uriz, M.J. Contrasting Effects of Heavy Metals on Sponge Cell Behavior. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 53, 552–558 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-006-0257-2

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