Abstract
Because of human actions, biomarkers have become important to detect and mitigate pollution. This study showed that crystalloids can be a biomarker for analyses of low levels of water-soluble fractions of oil (WSF). Antarctic sea urchins (Sterechinus neumayeri) from regions free of pollution were exposed for 2, 5, 10 and 15 days at different levels of WSF (0.4, 0.8 and 1.2 ppm). No significant differences were observed in the phagocytic rates or the germicide capacity for the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae; however, there was a significant increase in the quantity of intranuclear iron crystalloids in phagocytic amoebocytes of urchins exposed to higher levels of WSF. This study characterizes histological alterations in crystalloids of S. neumayeri that could be used as a biomarker for oil contaminants, with a simple and inexpensive protocol.
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Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (CNPq) for financial support, to the Marinha do Brasil and Secretaria dos Recursos Interministeriais para os Recursos do Mar (SECIRM) for logistical support, to Petrobrás (TEBAR) for providing the oil, to the Centro de Biologia Marinha da Universidade de São Paulo (CEBIMar—USP) for support in the pilot experiments, and to Janet W. Reid for revising the English text.
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Borges, J.C.S., Branco, P.C., Pressinotti, L.N. et al. Intranuclear crystalloids of Antarctic sea urchins as a biomarker for oil contamination. Polar Biol 33, 843–849 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-009-0762-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-009-0762-7