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Arsenic-contaminated freshwater: assessing arsenate and arsenite toxicity and low-dose genotoxicity in Gammarus elvirae (Crustacea; Amphipoda)

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Abstract

Arsenic (As) contamination of freshwater is largely due to geogenic processes, but As is also released into the environment because of improper anthropic activities. The European regulatory limits in drinking water are of 10 μg L−1 As. However, knowledge of the genotoxic effects induced by low doses of As in freshwater environments is still scanty. This study was designed to investigate arsenate (As(V)) and arsenite (As(III)) toxicity and low-dose genotoxicity in Gammarus elvirae, which has proved to be a useful organism for genotoxicity assays in freshwater. As(V) and As(III) toxicity was assessed on the basis of the median lethal concentration, LC(50), while estimates of DNA damage were based on the Comet assay. The G. elvirae LC (50–240 h) value we calculated was 1.55 mg L−1 for As(V) and 1.72 mg L−1 for As(III). Arsenic exposure (240 h) at 5, 10, and 50 µg L−1 of As in assays with either arsenate or arsenite-induced DNA damage in hemocytes of G. elvirae in a concentration-dependent manner. Our study provides a basis for future genotoxic research on exposure to freshwater that contains low levels of arsenic.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Marco Gramiccioni for his help in sampling G. elvirae specimens within the river system, and Sapienza University of Rome (Rome, Italy) for its financial support. We would also like to thank Silvia Canepari (Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome) for her suggestions and assistance in measuring the real concentrations of As by means of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Anonymous reviewers provided high quality advice that improved the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Biology and Biotechnology “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale dell’Università 32, Rome, Italy

    Lucilla Ronci, Elvira De Matthaeis, Claudio Chimenti & Domenico Davolos

  2. Department of Technological Innovations and Safety of Plants, Products and Anthropic Settlements, INAIL, Research Area, Via R. Ferruzzi 38/40, Rome, Italy

    Domenico Davolos

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  1. Lucilla Ronci
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  2. Elvira De Matthaeis
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Correspondence to Domenico Davolos.

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Ronci, L., De Matthaeis, E., Chimenti, C. et al. Arsenic-contaminated freshwater: assessing arsenate and arsenite toxicity and low-dose genotoxicity in Gammarus elvirae (Crustacea; Amphipoda). Ecotoxicology 26, 581–588 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-017-1791-6

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