Abstract
Recognized as ubiquitous contaminants in soil, the environmental risk of phthalic acid esters (PAEs) is of great concern recently. Effects of di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), an extensively used PAE compound to Eisenia fetida have been investigated in spiked natural brown yellow soil (Alfisol) for soil contact test. The toxicity of DnBP to E. fetida on the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, peroxidase (POD), reactive oxygen species (ROS) content, and the apoptosis of coelomocytes and DNA damage at the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th day of the incubation have been paid close attention to. In general, SOD activity and ROS content were significantly induced, opposite to total protein content and POD activity, during the toxicity test of 28 days especially under concentrations higher than 2.5 mg kg-1. The reduction in neutral red retention (NRR) time along with the increase of dead coelomocytes as the increasing of DnBP concentrations, indicating severe damage to cell viability under varying pollutant stress during cultivation, which could also be proved by comet assay results for exerting evident DNA damage in coelomocytes. DnBP in spiked natural soil could indeed cause damage to tissues, coelomocytes and the nucleus of E. fetida. The key point of the apparent change in different indices presented around 2.5 mg DnBP kg-1 soil, which could be recommended as the threshold of DnBP soil contamination, so that further investigation on threshold values to other soil animals or microorganisms could be discussed.
Highlights
China is one of the largest consumers of phthalic acid esters (PAEs), mainly used as plasticizers, and the consumption of PAEs has been much more than over 0.87 million tons per year afterPLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0151128 March 16, 2016di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP) in Soil Can Induce Toxicity Symptoms to Earthworm at Different Microlevels2006 [1]
Both the consumption of different enzymes in cellular protection under contamination stress and the inhibition of protein synthesis when earthworms were exposed to DnBP at different concentrations in soils could be the explanation of the total protein content decrease in earthworms
Strong effect of employed parameters in natural soil test emphasized the necessity of using practical environmental samples in the experiment of toxicity evaluation, just like other research in polluted water
Summary
China is one of the largest consumers of phthalic acid esters (PAEs), mainly used as plasticizers, and the consumption of PAEs has been much more than over 0.87 million tons per year afterPLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0151128 March 16, 2016DnBP in Soil Can Induce Toxicity Symptoms to Earthworm at Different Microlevels2006 [1]. Emerging as synthetic environmental organic pollutants with high molecular mass, PAE compounds have been introduced to different environmental matrices worldwide, resulting in damage of non-target organisms in various ecosystems including agricultural plants, soil animals and microorganisms in the soil ecosystem [2, 3]. In 1999, six representative PAE compounds, including di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), were nominated as priority pollutants and environmental endocrine disruptor chemicals (EDCs) by the Environmental Protection Agency of the United States (US EPA). High residual concentrations in soil and slow degradation rate of DnBP have made the upcoming phytotoxicity problem to crops receive more public concern in recent years [6, 7], the possibility of being transferred from soils to human body and cause potential reproductive and developmental toxicity highlighted the importance of evaluating DnBP contamination in soils [8]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
