Antioxidant response to heavy metal pollution of Regi Lagni freshwater in Conocephalum conicum L. (Dum.)

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety

Sergio Sorbo¹  Federica Carraturo²  Piergiorgio Cianciullo²  Viviana Maresca²  Giovanna Salbitani²  Adriana Basile²  Simona Carfagna²  Lucia Panzella³  Federica Moccia³  Marilena Insolvibile⁴ 

[1] CeSMA, section of Microscopy, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy;Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy;Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy;ISPRA, Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Rome, Italy;

关键词: Conocephalum conicum;    Bryophyta;    Heavy metal pollution;    Oxidative stress and antioxidant responses;    Polyphenol;    Glutathione;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Conocephalum conicum L. is a cosmopolitan liverwort species able to respond to local environmental pollution by changing its biological features. In the present study, we assessed the different biological responses in C. conicum to heavy metal contamination of Regi Lagni channels, a highly polluted freshwater body. As for the in field experiment, we set up moss bags containing collected samples of the local wild growing C. conicum, from the upstream site (non-polluted area), and we exposed them in the three selected sites characterized by different and extreme conditions of heavy metal pollution. In addition, to better understand the contribution of heavy metals to the alterations and response of the liverwort, we performed in vitro tests, using the same concentration of heavy metals measured in the sites at the moment of the exposition. In both experimental settings, bioaccumulation, ultrastructural damage, reactive oxygen species production and localization, antioxidant enzymes activity (superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione S-transferases), glutathione (reduced and oxidized) levels, localization of compounds presenting thiol groups and phenolic content were investigated. The results showed that the samples from different sites and conditions (for in vitro tests) showed significant differences. In particular, the ultrastructural alterations show a trend correlated to the different exposure situations; ROS contents, glutathione, antioxidant enzyme activities, and phenolic contents were increased showing an enhancement of the antioxidant defense both by the enzymatic way and by using the synthesis of antioxidant phenolic compounds. This study confirms the ability of C. conicum to respond to heavy metal pollution and the responses studied are, at least partially, correlated to the presence of heavy metals. All the responses considered respond consistently with the pollution trend and they can be proposed as pollution biomarkers. Therefore, we suggest the use of C. conicum to identify local hot spots of pollution in further investigation.

【 授权许可】

Unknown