Abstract
Although nickel exposure results in allergic reactions, respiratory conditions, and cancer in humans and rodents, the ramifications of excess nickel in the environment for animal and human health remain largely undescribed. Nickel and other cationic metals travel through waterways and bind to soils and sediments. To evaluate the potential toxic effects of nickel at environmental contaminant levels (8.9-7,600 µg Ni/g dry weight of sediment and 50-800 µg NiCl2/L of water), we conducted assays using two cosmopolitan nematodes, Caenorhabditis elegans and Pristionchus pacificus. We assayed the effects of both sediment-bound and aqueous nickel upon animal growth, developmental survival, lifespan, and fecundity. Uncontaminated sediments were collected from sites in the Midwestern United States and spiked with a range of nickel concentrations. We found that nickel-spiked sediment substantially impairs both survival from larval to adult stages and adult longevity in a concentration-dependent manner. Further, while aqueous nickel showed no adverse effects on either survivorship or longevity, we observed a significant decrease in fecundity, indicating that aqueous nickel could have a negative impact on nematode physiology. Intriguingly, C. elegans and P. pacificus exhibit similar, but not identical, responses to nickel exposure. Moreover, P. pacificus could be tested successfully in sediments inhospitable to C. elegans. Our results add to a growing body of literature documenting the impact of nickel on animal physiology, and suggest that environmental toxicological studies could gain an advantage by widening their repertoire of nematode species.
Highlights
Nickel occurs naturally in soils, sediments, and waters and is an essential metal for many organisms, plants and microbes
Our results add to a growing body of literature documenting the impact of nickel on animal physiology, and suggest that environmental toxicological studies could gain an advantage by widening their repertoire of nematode species
The suitability of C. elegans and P. pacificus were tested in growth, fertility, and survivorship assays using a broad range of sediment types collected from sites in the Missouri River, Mississippi River, and Saint Lawrence watersheds (Figure 2)
Summary
Nickel occurs naturally in soils, sediments, and waters and is an essential metal for many organisms, plants and microbes. Substantial levels of nickel are introduced into the environment via volcanic and anthropogenic activities. When released into the environment from human manufacturing waste, nickel, as Ni(II), can assume both soluble and insoluble forms. Particulate nickel remains close to the source of contamination, but soluble nickel is mobile and can be incorporated into soils and sediments at greater distances. Nickel toxicity in waters and sediments is assumed to be closely related to concentrations of dissolved metal ions. Concentrations of dissolved metal ions are controlled primarily by nickel binding to sulfides, measured as acid-volatile sulfide or AVS, and organic matter, measured as total organic carbon or TOC [1]
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