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Ecotoxicological impacts of surface water and wastewater from conventional and advanced treatment technologies on brood size, larval length, and cytochrome P450 (35A3) expression in Caenorhabditis elegans

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Abstract

Anthropogenic micropollutants and transformation products (TPs) negatively affect aquatic ecosystems and water resources. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) represent major point sources for (micro)pollutants and TPs in urban water cycles. The aim of the current study was to assess the removal of micropollutants and toxicity during conventional and advanced wastewater treatment. Using wild-type and transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans, the endpoint reproduction, growth, and cytochrome P450 (CYP) 35A3 induction (via cyp-35A3::GFP) were assessed. Samples were collected at four WWTPs and a receiving surface water. One WWTP included the advanced treatments: ozonation followed by granular activated carbon (GAC) or biological filtration (BF), respectively. Relevant micropollutants and WWTP parameters (n = 111) were included. Significant reproductive toxicity was detected for one WWTP effluent (31–83% reduced brood size). Three of four effluents significantly promoted the growth of C. elegans larvae (49–55% increased lengths). This effect was also observed for the GAC (34–41%) and BF (30%) post-treatments. Markedly, significant cyp-35A3::GFP induction was detected for one effluent before and after ozonation, being more pronounced for the ozonated samples (5- and 7.4-fold above controls). While the advanced treatments decreased the concentrations of most micropollutants, the observed effects may be attributed to effects of residual target compounds and/or compounds not included in the target chemical analysis. This highlights the need for an integrated assessment of (advanced) wastewater treatment covering both biological and chemical parameters.

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Acknowledgments

This work was partly supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the project TransRisk [02WRS1275A] which is gratefully appreciated. The authors further thank Ralph Menzel (Humboldt University Berlin), Wolfgang Ahlf (Technical University Hamburg-Harburg), and all TransRisk project partners for the fruitful discussions and collaboration that greatly helped to improve this manuscript. We also thank the Caenorhabditis Genetics Center, funded by the National Institutes of Health Office of Research Infrastructure Programs [P40 OD010440] (USA), for supplying the Caenorhabditis elegans N2 and Escherichia coli OP50 strain.

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  1. Institute of Ecology, Diversity and Evolution, Goethe Universität Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60438, Frankfurt, Germany

    Aennes Abbas, Ilona Schneider, Ulrike Schulte-Oehlmann, Jörg Oehlmann & Martin Wagner

  2. Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Goethe-University Hospital, Theodor Stern Kai 7, 60590, Frankfurt, Germany

    Lucie Valek

  3. Zweckverband Landeswasserversorgung, Spitziger Berg 1, 89129, Langenau, Germany

    Anna Bollmann & Wolfram Seitz

  4. Department of Wastewater Technology and Water Reuse, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Franziska-Braun-Str. 7, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany

    Gregor Knopp

  5. Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Høgskoleringen 5, Realfagbygget, Trondheim, Norway

    Martin Wagner

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  1. Aennes Abbas
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Abbas, A., Valek, L., Schneider, I. et al. Ecotoxicological impacts of surface water and wastewater from conventional and advanced treatment technologies on brood size, larval length, and cytochrome P450 (35A3) expression in Caenorhabditis elegans. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 13868–13880 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-1605-2

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