Differential toxicity of copper, zinc, and lead during the embryonic development of Chasmagnathus granulatus (Brachyura, varunidae)

Abstract

Ovigerous females of the estuarine crab Chasmagnathus granulatus were exposed to copper (0.01 and 1 mg/L), zinc (0.05, 1, and 10 mg/L), or lead (0.01 and 1 mg/L) during early, late, or whole embryonic development. None of the assayed heavy metals produced a significant mortality of females, neither a decrease in the number of hatched larvae nor a decrease in the egg incubation time, but several morphological abnormalities were detected in hatched larvae. The abnormalities were classified in three categories: eye, body pigmentary, and body morphological abnormalities. Those larvae with eye and body pigmentary abnormalities, particularly those involving retinal pigments and chromatophores, showed the highest incidence by exposure to the assayed metals. In addition, embryos were more susceptible to copper and zinc during the late period of development, whereas the effect of lead was greater during the early period of embryogenesis. Some teratogenic effects observed in C. granulatus embryos exposed to heavy metals, particularly the hypertrophy and hypopigmentation of eyes observed in the laboratory at a lead concentration as low as that reported for the natural environment, could be considered as sensitive biomarkers for this kind of pollutant.

Physiological and toxicological transcriptome changes in HepG2 cells exposed to copper

“…arrest in the sea urchin, oyster, crab, sea squirt, and in insects (2,9,40,56,57,71). Clustering and GO analyses showed that at high concentrations, copper upregulated genes associated with cell fate determination and differentiation, embryonic development, and cell polarity, including IFN-related developmental regulator 1 (IFRD1), myeloid cell leukemia sequence 1 (MCL1), jagged 1 (JAG1), delta-like 1 (DLL1), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP1), MAFB, adenylate cyclase-associated protein 1 (CAP1), FYVE, RhoGEF, PH domain-containing 6 (FGD6), and IL-11 (Tables 4 and 5 and Supplemental Material, Additional Data File 5).…”

Salt sensitivity of the morphometry of Artemia franciscana during development: A demonstration of 3-D critical windows

“…While the presence or absence of phenotypic changes are reported, demonstration of the magnitude of the response in relation to exposure window and stressor dose is limited to a mere handful of studies (e.g. Degitz et al, 2000;Lavolpe et al, 2004;Hu et al, 2009;Yuan et al, 2011). Therefore, while typical studies of critical windows are useful for detecting periods of plasticity or susceptibility, they are limited in their ability to fully appreciate the phenotypic changes displayed by a developing animal.…”

First description of heavy skeletal deformations in Palaemon shrimp populations of European estuaries: the case of the Gironde (France)

“…Persistent organic pollutants can induce morphological deformities in peneids or crabs (Weis et al, 1987;Betancourt-Lozano et al, 2006). Heavy metals could also induce deformities in brachyura larvae (Lavolpe et al, 2004).…”