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New implications in the use of imposex as a suitable tool for tributyltin contamination: experimental induction in Hexaplex trunculus (Gastropoda, Muricidae) with different stressors

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Abstract

Imposex, i.e. the development of additional male sex organs (penis and/or vas deferens), in females of gonochorist marine and freshwater gastropods, is known to be caused by tributyltin (TBT), and it has been widely used as a biomonitoring tool in environmental surveys for TBT pollution assessment. In this study, we experimentally tested the potential to induce imposex by another endocrine disruptor (polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs] mixture—Aroclor 1260). Adults of Hexaplex trunculus with low imposex level, coming from an Italian Marine Protected Area, were injected separately with different doses of tributyltin chloride (TBTCl) and Aroclor 1260. The compounds were dissolved in ethanol and the organisms were narcotised by immersion in MgCl2 solution before injection. Before and after the experiment, butyltin compounds (BuTs) and PCB tissue concentrations were determined. A significant increase in imposex with respect to non-treated organisms was observed in all treatments, including artefact controls. No clear correlation was observed between BuTs and PCB tissue concentrations and indices of imposex incidence. Based on these results, no assumption can be formulated about PCB effect on imposex development. Nevertheless, they suggest that the imposex level increase, at least in H. trunculus, in laboratory conditions might not be caused by TBT only, but it would rather be a non-specific response to different stress stimuli.

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Abbreviations

BuTs:

butyltin compounds

DBT:

dibutyltin

MBT:

monobutyltin

PCB:

polychlorinated biphenyls

TBT:

tributyltin

VDSI:

vas deferens sequence index

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marine Technologies, CNR-Institute of Marine Sciences, Via de Marini, 6, 16149, Genoa, Italy

    Francesca Garaventa, Sarah Fiorini & Marco Faimali

  2. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Venice, Calle Larga S. Marta 2137, 30123, Venice, Italy

    Elena Centanni, Seta Noventa & Bruno Pavoni

  3. Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, CoNISMa, 73100, Lecce, Italy

    Antonio Terlizzi

Authors
  1. Francesca Garaventa
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  2. Elena Centanni
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  3. Sarah Fiorini
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  4. Seta Noventa
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  5. Antonio Terlizzi
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  6. Marco Faimali
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  7. Bruno Pavoni
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Correspondence to Francesca Garaventa.

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Garaventa, F., Centanni, E., Fiorini, S. et al. New implications in the use of imposex as a suitable tool for tributyltin contamination: experimental induction in Hexaplex trunculus (Gastropoda, Muricidae) with different stressors. Cell Biol Toxicol 24, 563–571 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10565-008-9065-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10565-008-9065-y

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