Chemicals with increasingly complex modes of action result in greater variation in sensitivity between earthworm species

Robinson, Alex; Lahive, Elma; Short, Stephen; Carter, Heather; Sleep, Darren; Pereira, Gloria Dos Santos; Kille, Peter; Spurgeon, David J.

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115914

Cited by 16 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…First, confirming previous studies and theory, the lowest variation in sensitivity across taxonomic groups was found in chemicals with nonspecific MoA, i.e., narcosis (Figure , vertical spread). This supports the hypothesis that even among not closely related species, toxicity through nonpolar narcosis is associated with relatively lower interspecies sensitivity differences . Although there may be an applied ecology and a statistical reason to consider splitting data-rich chemicals with a narcotic MoA, the improved fit mainly implies improved SSD-based outputs for chemicals with specific MoA, making the latter the primary focus for aiming at splitting SSDs in practice .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

“…This supports the hypothesis that even among not closely related species, toxicity through nonpolar narcosis is associated with relatively lower interspecies sensitivity differences. 33 Although there may be an applied ecology and a statistical reason to consider splitting data-rich chemicals with a narcotic MoA, the improved fit mainly implies improved SSD-based outputs for chemicals with specific MoA, making the latter the primary focus for aiming at splitting SSDs in practice. 3 Second, some outcomes are not predictable by MoA or use category information.…”

Section: ■ Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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To Split or Not to Split: Characterizing Chemical Pollution Impacts in Aquatic Ecosystems with Species Sensitivity Distributions for Specific Taxonomic Groups

Oginah,

Posthuma,

Hauschild

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Bridging applied ecology and ecotoxicology is key to protect ecosystems. These disciplines show a mismatch, especially when evaluating pressures. Contrasting to applied ecology, ecotoxicological impacts are often characterized for whole species assemblages based on Species Sensitivity Distributions (SSDs). SSDs are statistical models describing per chemical across-species sensitivity variation based on laboratory toxicity tests. To assist in the aligning of the disciplines and improve decision-support uses of SSDs, we investigate taxonomic-groupspecific SSDs for algae/cyanobacteria/aquatic plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates for 180 chemicals with sufficient test data. We show that splitting improves pollution impact assessments for chemicals with a specific mode of action and, surprisingly, for narcotic chemicals. We provide a framework for splitting SSDs that can be applied to serve in environmental protection, life cycle assessment, and management of freshwater ecosystems. We illustrate that using split SSDs has potentially large implications for the decisionsupport of SSD-based outputs around the globe.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Section: ■ Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

To Split or Not to Split: Characterizing Chemical Pollution Impacts in Aquatic Ecosystems with Species Sensitivity Distributions for Specific Taxonomic Groups

Oginah,

Posthuma,

Hauschild

et al. 2023

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…For Luvisol RefeSol 02-A, all of the TER were found to be less or equal the assessment factor of 5. This means that the current assessment factor for the evaluation of the TER might have already been "used up" by differences in soil sorption properties like organic carbon content only, without considering for example alteration of effects in the field by co-stressors or without taking into account other earthworm species which have been shown to be more sensitive than E. fetida/andrei (Robinson et al 2021). Liu et al (2012) found a ten times higher LC 50 of carbendazim between two soils with different soil sorption properties.…”

Section: Implication On Eramentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Using E. fetida does not cover the variability of species specific responses to chemicals (Robinson et al 2021) and the natural habitat of this "compost worm" are highly organic forest soils and man-made accumulations of organic materials (Jänsch et al 2005). However, investigating the model organism E. fetida recommended in the OECD 222 (2016) guideline in typical agricultural soils is a first step and has the potential to expand the understanding of ecotoxicological studies with soil organisms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural soils in OECD 222 testing — influence of soil water and soil properties on earthworm reproduction toxicity of carbendazim

et al. 2023

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Soil sorption properties can influence the bioavailability of substances and consequently the toxicity for soil organisms. Current standardised laboratory testing for the exposure assessment of pesticides to soil organisms uses OECD artificial soil that does not reflect the high variation in chemical-physical soil properties found in natural agroecosystems. According to guideline OECD 222, earthworm reproduction tests with Eisenia fetida and the pesticide carbendazim were performed in four natural soils and OECD artificial soil. By using pF 1.6, which ensures a uniformity in actual soil water availability, the control reproduction performance of E. fetida in all natural soils was at the same level as OECD artificial soil. In a principle component analysis, the variation in toxicity between the tested soils was attributable to a combination of two soil properties, namely total organic carbon content (TOC) and pH. The largest difference of 4.9-fold was found between the typical agricultural Luvisol with 1.03% TOC and pH 6.2 (EC10: 0.17 (0.12–0.21) mg a.i. kg−1 sdw, EC50: 0.36 (0.31–0.40) mg a.i. kg−1 sdw) and OECD artificial soil with 4.11% TOC and pH 5.6 (EC10: 0.84 (0.72–0.92) mg a.i. kg−1 sdw, EC50: 1.07 (0.99–1.15) mg a.i. kg−1 sdw). The use of typical agricultural soils in standardised laboratory earthworm testing was successfully established with using the measure pF for soil moisture adjustment. It provides a more application-oriented approach and could serve as a new tool to refine the environmental risk assessment at lower tier testing or in an intermediate tier based approach.

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“…Briefly, tests with the five earthworm species were conducted in a natural soil (Kettering loam) amended with 3% w/w organic matter (composted bark from LBS Horticultural, Colne, UK). The soil was described in more detail by Robinson et al 29 Earthworm numbers per replicate were modified (minimum five individuals per rep) on the basis of their availability from collection and also to avoid crowding effects. 30 Imidacloprid was spiked as an aqueous solution at seven concentrations (including a control) up to 10 or 30 mg/kg dry weight soil with four replicates per treatment.…”

Section: ■ Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Off-Target Stoichiometric Binding Identified from Toxicogenomics Explains Why Some Species Are More Sensitive than Others to a Widely Used Neonicotinoid

Short

Robinson

Lahive

et al. 2021

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Neonicotinoids are currently licensed for use in 120 countries, making accurate nontarget species sensitivity predictions critical. Unfortunately, such predictions are fraught with uncertainty, as sensitivity is extrapolated from only a few test species and neonicotinoid sensitivities can differ greatly between closely related taxa. Combining classical toxicology with de novo toxicogenomics could greatly improve sensitivity predictions and identify unexpectedly susceptible species. We show that there is a >30-fold differential species sensitivity (DSS) for the neonicotinoid imidacloprid between five earthworm species, a critical nontarget taxon. This variation could not be explained by differential toxicokinetics. Furthermore, comparing key motif expression in subunit genes of the classical nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) target predicts only minor differences in the ligand binding domains (LBDs). In contrast, predicted dissimilarities in LBDs do occur in the highly expressed but nonclassical targets, acetylcholine binding proteins (AChBPs). Critically, the predicted AChBP divergence is capable of explaining DSS. We propose that high expression levels of putative nonsynaptic AChBPs with high imidacloprid affinities reduce imidacloprid binding to critical nAChRs involved in vital synaptic neurotransmission. This study provides a clear example of how pragmatic interrogation of key motif expression in complex multisubunit receptors can predict observed DSS, thereby informing sensitivity predictions for essential nontarget species.

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Chemicals with increasingly complex modes of action result in greater variation in sensitivity between earthworm species

Cited by 16 publications

References 52 publications

To Split or Not to Split: Characterizing Chemical Pollution Impacts in Aquatic Ecosystems with Species Sensitivity Distributions for Specific Taxonomic Groups

To Split or Not to Split: Characterizing Chemical Pollution Impacts in Aquatic Ecosystems with Species Sensitivity Distributions for Specific Taxonomic Groups

Natural soils in OECD 222 testing — influence of soil water and soil properties on earthworm reproduction toxicity of carbendazim

Off-Target Stoichiometric Binding Identified from Toxicogenomics Explains Why Some Species Are More Sensitive than Others to a Widely Used Neonicotinoid

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