Toxicity and Subcellular Fractionation of Yttrium in Three Freshwater Organisms: , and .

The demand for rare earth elements (REEs) has increased since the 1990s leading to the development of many mining projects worldwide. However, less is known about how organisms can handle these metals in natural aquatic systems. Through laboratory experiments, we assessed the chronic toxicity and subcellular fractionation of yttrium (Y), one of the four most abundant REEs, in three freshwater organisms commonly used in aquatic toxicology: , and . In bioassays using growth as an end point, was the only organism showing toxicity at Y exposure concentrations close to environmental ones. The lowest observable effect concentrations (LOECs) of Y assessed for and were at least 100 times higher than the Y concentration in natural freshwater. A negative correlation between Y toxicity and water hardness was observed for . When exposed to their respective estimated LOECs, bioaccumulated 15-45 times more Y than the other two organisms exposed to their own LOECs. This former species sequestered up to 75% of Y in the NaOH-resistant fraction, a putative metal-detoxified subcellular fraction. To a lesser extent, bioaccumulated 20-30% of Y in this detoxified fraction. In contrast, the Y subcellular distribution in liver did not highlight any notable detoxification strategy; Y was accumulated primarily in mitochondria (ca. 32%), a putative metal-sensitive fraction. This fraction was also the main sensitive fraction where Y accumulated in and . Hence, the interaction of Y with mitochondria could explain its toxicity. In conclusion, there is a wide range of subcellular handling strategies for Y, with accumulating high quantities but sequestering most of it in detoxified fractions, whereas tending to accumulate less Y but in highly sensitive fractions.