Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia 21, 80126, Naples, Italy.
Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia 21, 80126, Naples, Italy.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2020 Nov;204:111082. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2020.111082. Epub 2020 Aug 11.
The effects of nitrates were analysed on the land snail Eobania vermiculata, a good bioindicator to assess the effects of certain pollutants in soil. It is known that the molluscs are very sensitive to contamination substances and can be used as sentinel organism for environmental pollution assessment. The nitrates are present in fertilizers and in food additives and their excess can not only be harmful to the environment but also dangerous for the humans. Indeed, in the mammals the nitrates are converted into nitrites and can cause a series of complications as the formation of methaemoglobin and cancers. In this study, adult organisms of E. vermiculata were exposed to soil containing 2000 mg/L of nitrates for 30 days to evaluate the stool microbiome and the histological changes at the level of the foot. Eggs of these snails were similarly treated to observe their hatching, survival and development. Histological changes were observed at level of the foot of adult snails exposed to nitrate and in their stools was evident an increase of bacteria, especially those that have a high ability to exploit nitrates and nitrogen as nutrients. Instead, the treated eggs showed changes in hatching, hypopigmentation of newborn snails and a decrease of their survival in time. The overall information obtained from these endpoints can provide important information regarding the quality of the environment. In addition, they also showed that the invertebrate organism E. vermiculata despite being a simple organism is very useful and efficient for ecotoxicological studies.
硝酸盐对陆地蜗牛 Eobania vermiculata 的影响进行了分析，Eobania vermiculata 是一种很好的生物指标，可以用来评估土壤中某些污染物的影响。众所周知，软体动物对污染物质非常敏感，可以作为环境污染评估的指示生物。硝酸盐存在于肥料和食品添加剂中，其过量不仅对环境有害，而且对人类也很危险。事实上，在哺乳动物中，硝酸盐会转化为亚硝酸盐，会导致一系列并发症，如形成高铁血红蛋白和癌症。在这项研究中，E. vermiculata 的成年个体暴露在含有 2000 毫克/升硝酸盐的土壤中 30 天，以评估粪便微生物组和足部的组织学变化。这些蜗牛的卵也进行了类似的处理，以观察它们的孵化、存活和发育。暴露于硝酸盐的成年蜗牛足部和粪便中观察到组织学变化，明显增加了细菌，尤其是那些具有高能力利用硝酸盐和氮作为营养物质的细菌。相比之下，处理过的卵在孵化、新生蜗牛的色素减退和存活时间减少方面显示出变化。从这些终点获得的综合信息可以提供有关环境质量的重要信息。此外，它们还表明，尽管 E. vermiculata 是一种简单的生物，但它作为无脊椎动物生物在生态毒理学研究中非常有用和高效。
