Developing ecotoxicity biomarkers in the marine amphipod Parhyale hawaiensis and testing toxicity of manufactured nanomaterials

• Grant number: 14/08829-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: August 01, 2014
• End date: November 30, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Pharmacology - Toxicology
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Gisela de Aragão Umbuzeiro
• Grantee: Mariana Coletty Artal
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas (FCF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

To protect ecosystems from the adverse effects from pollutants it is important to use standardized tests with representative organisms from the environment that needs to be protected. Marine and estuarine ecosystems still need model organisms that are sensitive and easy to grow and handling in lab conditions. From a model, it is possible to establish methods for the assessment of toxicity in laboratory and field as well as develop more sensitive tools such as biomarkers of exposure. The incorporation of nanomaterials in different products makes them potential environmental contaminants, therefore their effects need to be investigated with appropriate tools. The amphipod Parhyale hawaiensis arises as a promising model for ecotoxicological studies because it is abundant, representative from estuarine ecosystems in tropical areas and has literature on their biology and genetics. The aim of this work is to develop and standardize procedures for husbandry P. hawaiensis in laboratory conditions with endpoints of mortality and reproduction, and gene expression analysis of metallothioneins. Experiments will be conducted to establish the best conditions for husbandry and exposure, such as age and size of organisms to be used. With the above procedures, we will develop analyses of gene expression in P. hawaiensis that will be conducted in partnership with Heriot- Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. In the ecotoxicity tests, zinc, copper and silver will be used as reference substances. With established procedures the toxicity of silver and copper nanoparticles, already characterized, will be evaluated via diet, providing important information about the toxicity of nanomaterials in estuarine organisms contributing to the scarce literature in this field. (AU)

Scientific publications

(5)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

ARTAL, MARIANA COLETTY; DOS SANTOS, AMANDA; HENRY, THEODORE BURDICK; UMBUZEIRO, GISELA DE ARAGAO. Development of an acute toxicity test with the tropical marine amphipod Parhyale hawaiensis. ECOTOXICOLOGY, v. 27, n. 2, p. 103-108, MAR 2018. (14/08829-7)

VACCHI, I, FRANCINE; DOS SANTOS, AMANDA; ARTAL, MARIANA C.; MAGALHAES, GABRIEL R.; DE SOUZA VENDEMIATTI, JOSIANE A.; UMBUZEIRO, GISELA DE ARAGAO. Parhyale hawaiensis as a promising alternative organism for monitoring acute toxicity of sediments under the influence of submarine outfalls. Marine Pollution Bulletin, v. 149, DEC 2019. (15/24758-5, 17/22010-9, 14/08829-7)

DOS SANTOS, AMANDA; TENORIO BOTELHO, MARINA; VANNUCI-SILVA, MONIZZE; COLETTY ARTAL, MARIANA; VACCHI, FRANCINE I.; RAMPAZZO MAGALHAES, GABRIEL; GOMES, VICENTE; BURDICK HENRY, THEODORE; DE ARAGAO UMBUZEIRO, GISELA. The amphipod Parhyale hawaiensis as a promising model in ecotoxicology. Chemosphere, v. 307, p. 8-pg., 2022-08-09. (13/26301-7, 08/10449-7, 15/24758-5, 12/09512-1, 14/08829-7, 17/22010-9, 17/16168-9)

ARTAL, MARIANA COLETTY; PEREIRA, KARINA DANIELLE; LUCHESSI, AUGUSTO DUCATI; OKURA, VAGNER KATSUMI; HENRY, THEODORE BURDICK; MARQUES-SOUZA, HENRIQUE; UMBUZEIRO, GISELA DE ARAGAO. Transcriptome analysis in Parhyale hawaiensis reveal sex-specific responses to AgNP and AgCl exposure. Environmental Pollution, v. 260, MAY 2020. (14/08829-7)

DOS SANTOS, AMANDA; VANNUCI-SILVA, MONIZZE; VENDEMIATTI, JOSIANE A. DE SOUZA; ARTAL, MARIANA COLETTY; DA SILVA, BIANCA FERREIRA; BOLDRIN ZANONI, MARIA VALNICE; UMBUZEIRO, GISELA DE ARAGAO. Measuring concentrations of a dye in the hemolymph of a marine amphipod: Development of a protocol for exposure assessment. Marine Pollution Bulletin, v. 175, p. 5-pg., 2022-02-04. (13/26301-7, 14/08829-7, 08/10449-7)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

ARTAL, Mariana Coletty. The marine amphipod Parhyale hawaiensis as a model in ecotoxicology. 2018. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Conjunto das Químicas (IQ e FCF) (CQ/DBDCQ) São Paulo.