Introduction of the land snail Cornu aspersum as a bioindicator organism of terrestrial pollution with the use of a suite of biomarkers

Abstract

The use of organisms in biomonitoring studies allows the determination of the pollution levels, the assessment of the quality of the enviroment and the study of toxic effects of pollutants on the organisms. By studying the responses (biomarkers) of organisms, it is possible to assess the exposure and effects of pollutants. Land gastropods are widely used in relevant studies as they possess several characteristics that make them ideal for use as bioindicators. In the present study we sought to evaluate several biomarkers in the laboratory using snails of the species Cornu aspersum after the exposure to heavy metals (Cd, Hg) and a mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (anthracene, phenanthrene and naphthalene). The biomarkers studied were the following: lysosomic membrane stability using the neutral red retention assay (NRR), the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) using the compound DCFH-DA and flow cytometry, lipid peroxidation using the TBARs assay that measures the concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA), protein carbonylation (–CO) using ELISA, and single strand breaks of DNA using the comet assay. Our results show significant differences in the responses between the control group and the groups that were exposed to pollutans, enhancing the role of Cornu aspersum as a promising bioindicator organism in terrestrial pollution studies with the use of the biomarkers applied.