Natural Marine and Synthetic Xenobiotics Get on Nematode’s Nerves: Neuro-Stimulating and Neurotoxic Findings in Caenorhabditis elegans

Marine Drugs

Thora Lieke¹  Christian E. W. Steinberg¹  Jingjuan Ju¹  Nadine Saul¹ 

[1] Department of Biology, Freshwater and Stress Ecology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Späthstr. 80/81, 12437 Berlin, Germany; E-Mails:

关键词: tetrabromobisphenol-A;    dibromoacetic acid;    acute environmental toxicology;    neurobehavior;    gene expression;    GFP;    ontogeny;    C. elegans;   

DOI  :  10.3390/md13052785

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Marine algae release a plethora of organic halogenated compounds, many of them with unknown ecological impact if environmentally realistic concentrations are applied. One major compound is dibromoacetic acid (DBAA) which was tested for neurotoxicity in the invertebrate model organism Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). This natural compound was compared with the widespread synthetic xenobiotic tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBP-A) found in marine sediments and mussels. We found a neuro-stimulating effect for DBAA; this is contradictory to existing toxicological reports of mammals that applied comparatively high dosages. For TBBP-A, we found a hormetic concentration-effect relationship. As chemicals rarely occur isolated in the environment, a combination of both organobromines was also examined. Surprisingly, the presence of DBAA increased the toxicity of TBBP-A. Our results demonstrated that organohalogens have the potential to affect single organisms especially by altering the neurological processes, even with promoting effects on exposed organisms.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.