Surface-Functionalized Polystyrene Nanoparticles Alter the Transmembrane Potential via Ion-Selective Pores Maintaining Global Bilayer Integrity.

Although nanoplastics have well-known toxic effects toward the environment and living organisms, their molecular toxicity mechanisms, including the nature of nanoparticle-cell membrane interactions, are still under investigation. Here, we employ dynamic light scattering, quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring, and electrophysiology to investigate the interaction between polystyrene nanoparticles (PS NPs) and phospholipid membranes. Our results show that PS NPs adsorb onto lipid bilayers creating soft inhomogeneous films that include disordered defects.

De novo transcriptome reconstruction in aquacultured early life stages of the cephalopod Octopus vulgaris.

Cephalopods have been considered enigmatic animals that have attracted the attention of scientists from different areas of expertise. However, there are still many questions to elucidate the way of life of these invertebrates. The aim of this study is to construct a reference transcriptome in Octopus vulgaris early life stages to enrich existing databases and provide a new dataset that can be reused by other researchers in the field.

Removal efficiency for emerging contaminants in a WWTP from Madrid (Spain) after secondary and tertiary treatment and environmental impact on the Manzanares River.

The effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) can be an important contamination source for receiving waters. In this work, a comprehensive study on the impact of a WWTP from Madrid on the aquatic environment has been performed, including a wide number of pharmaceuticals and pesticides, among them those included in the European Watch List. 24-h composite samples of influent (IWW) and effluent wastewater after secondary (EWW2) and after secondary + tertiary treatment (EWW3) were monitored along two campaigns.

Effect of short-term exposure to fluorescent red polymer microspheres on Artemia franciscana nauplii and juveniles.

Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitously present in the world's seas with unknown potential toxic effects on aquatic ecosystems. The aim of this study was to evaluate biochemical responses caused by 1-5 μm diameter plastic fluorescent red polymer microspheres (FRM), under short-term exposure of nauplii and juveniles of Artemia franciscana, using a set of biomarkers involved in important physiological processes such as biotransformation, neuronal transmission and oxidative stress. Two FRM concentrations (0.

The influence of 17β-oestradiol on lymphopoiesis and immune system ontogenesis in juvenile sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax.

The female sex steroid 17β-oestradiol (E2) is involved in the regulation of numerous physiological functions, including the immune system development and performance. The role of oestrogens during ontogenesis is, however, not well studied. In rodents and fish, thymus maturation appears to be oestrogen-dependent.

Molecular and Functional Characterization of Genes in and Pointing to a Critical Role in Very Long-Chain (>C) Fatty Acid Synthesis during Early Neural Development of Fish.

Very long-chain fatty acids (VLC-FA) play critical roles in neural tissues during the early development of vertebrates. However, studies on VLC-FA in fish are scarce. The biosynthesis of VLC-FA is mediated by elongation of very long-chain fatty acid 4 (Elovl4) proteins and, consequently, the complement and activity of these enzymes determines the capacity that a given species has for satisfying its physiological demands, in particular for the correct development of neurophysiological functions.

Global impact of diet and temperature over aquaculture of Octopus vulgaris paralarvae from a transcriptomic approach.

Common octopus, Octopus vulgaris, is an economically important cephalopod species. However, its rearing under captivity is currently challenged by massive mortalities previous to their juvenile stage due to nutritional and environmental factors. Dissecting the genetic basis and regulatory mechanism behind this mortality requires genomic background knowledge.

Time-dependent effects of polystyrene nanoparticles in brine shrimp Artemia franciscana at physiological, biochemical and molecular levels.

Micro- (<5 mm) and nanoplastics (<1 μm) are emerging threats for marine ecosystems worldwide. Brine shrimp Artemia is recognized as a suitable model among planktonic species for studying the impact of polystyrene nanoparticles (PS NPs) through short and long-term bioassays. Our study aims to evaluate the time-dependent effects of cationic amino-modified PS-NH (50 nm) in A.

Uptake and effects of different concentrations of spherical polymer microparticles on Artemia franciscana.

Artemia cysts have a huge economic importance for the aquaculture sector due to the fact that they are used as live feed for larviculture. Microplastics (MPs) are common and emergent pollutants in the aquatic environments, with unknown and potential long-term effects on planktonic species such as Artemia spp. When used as live feed, Artemia could transfer contaminants to fish along the food chain, with possible adverse effects on human health through their consumption.

Identification of very long-chain (>C) fatty acid methyl esters using gas chromatography coupled to quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometry with atmospheric pressure chemical ionization source.

Gas chromatography coupled to a quadrupole time-of-flight mass analyzer (QTOF) with an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) source has been tested to study the ionization and mass spectrometric behavior of long-chain and very long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs, C; VLC-PUFAs, >C). The protonated molecule ([M+H]), measured at accurate mass, became the base peak of the spectrum for all the studied compounds and was promoted by the addition of water into the source. This fact overcame the existing difficulties for the identification of VLC-PUFAs when using an electron ionization source (EI).

Effects of ibuprofen and carbamazepine on the ion transport system and fatty acid metabolism of temperature conditioned juveniles of Solea senegalensis.

The increasing presence of pharmaceuticals in aquatic environments in the last decades, derived from human and veterinary use, has become an important environmental problem. Previous studies have shown that ibuprofen (IB) and carbamazepine (CBZ) modify physiological and biochemical processes in Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) in a temperature-dependent manner. In other vertebrates, there is evidence that both of these pharmaceuticals interfere with the 'arachidonic acid (AA) cascade', which is responsible for the biosynthesis of numerous enzymes that are involved in the osmoregulatory process.

Dietary Effect on the Proteome of the Common Octopus () Paralarvae.

Nowadays, the common octopus () culture is hampered by massive mortalities occurring during early life-cycle stages (paralarvae). Despite the causes of the high paralarvae mortality are not yet well-defined and understood, the nutritional stress caused by inadequate diets is pointed out as one of the main factors. In this study, the effects of diet on paralarvae is analyzed through a proteomic approach, to search for novel biomarkers of nutritional stress.

Effect of methylparaben in Artemia franciscana.

In this study, the toxicity of methylparaben (MeP) an emerging contaminant, was analysed in the sexual species Artemia franciscana, due to its presence in coastal areas and marine saltworks in the Mediterranean region. The acute toxicity (24h-LC) of MeP in nauplii was tested and its chronic effect (9days) evaluated by measuring survival and growth under two sublethal concentrations (0.0085 and 0.

Biosynthesis of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Octopus vulgaris: Molecular Cloning and Functional Characterisation of a Stearoyl-CoA Desaturase and an Elongation of Very Long-Chain Fatty Acid 4 Protein.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have been acknowledged as essential nutrients for cephalopods but the specific PUFAs that satisfy the physiological requirements are unknown. To expand our previous investigations on characterisation of desaturases and elongases involved in the biosynthesis of PUFAs and hence determine the dietary PUFA requirements in cephalopods, this study aimed to investigate the roles that a stearoyl-CoA desaturase (Scd) and an elongation of very long-chain fatty acid 4 (Elovl4) protein play in the biosynthesis of essential fatty acids (FAs). Our results confirmed the Scd is a ∆9 desaturase with relatively high affinity towards saturated FAs with ≥ C chain lengths.

Drugs of environmental concern modify Solea senegalensis physiology and biochemistry in a temperature-dependent manner.

The alerted presence in recent decades of pharmaceuticals has become an issue of environmental concern, and most of the mechanisms of biotransformation and biochemical and physiological responses to them in fish are still unknown, as well as the influence of water temperature in their ability to cope with them. This study aims to detect the main effects of two of the most widespread drugs on a set of physiological and biochemical markers in Solea senegalensis. Sole juveniles acclimatized at 15 and 20 °C were administered an intraperitoneal injection of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen (IB; 10 mg/kg) and the anti-convulsant drug carbamazepine (CBZ; 1 mg/kg).

Hepatic and branchial xenobiotic biomarker responses in Solea spp. from several NW Mediterranean fishing grounds.

The common sole, Solea solea and the Senegalese sole, Solea senegalensis are two important commercial benthic species that coexist in the NW Mediterranean Sea. Several common biomarkers of chemical exposure were measured in two organs (liver and gills) involved in a different degree in biotransformation and detoxification processes. These parameters were: phase I cytochrome P450 CYP1A-dependent ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase and carboxylesterase activities, phase II glutathione S-transferase activity and the enzymatic antioxidants: catalase, glutathione reductase and glutathione peroxidase.

Aquatic pollution may favor the success of the invasive species A. franciscana.

The genus Artemia consists of several bisexual and parthenogenetic sibling species. One of them, A. franciscana, originally restricted to the New World, becomes invasive when introduced into ecosystems out of its natural range of distribution.

Comparative analysis of selected biomarkers and pesticide sensitivity in juveniles of Solea solea and Solea senegalensis.

The common sole, Solea solea (Linneus, 1758), and the Senegalese sole, Solea senegalensis (Kaup, 1858), are two important commercial species that coexist in the NW Mediterranean. In order to assess the species' ability to respond to chemical insults, a comparison of activities on enzymes involved in xenobiotic metabolism was carried out. Juveniles of both species were sampled in winter 2011 from the Ebro Delta region, and activities of selected enzymes such as acetylcholinesterase (AChE), carboxylesterase (CbE), ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) were determined in several tissues.

A revision of Artemia biodiversity in Macaronesia.

In a biogeographical context, the term Macaronesia broadly embraces the North Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores, Madeira, Selvagens, the Canary Islands, and Cape Verde. The peculiar arid climatic conditions in some of these places have led to the development of marine salt exploitations, which can be counted among the hypersaline habitats of the brine shrimp Artemia (Branchiopoda, Anostraca). Parthenogenetic populations of this anostracan were described in the Canary Islands during the last decades of the 20th century, while the American Artemia franciscana species was recently found in the Cape Verde archipelago.

Characterization of the organic contamination pattern of a hyper-saline ecosystem by rapid screening using gas chromatography coupled to high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

In this paper, gas chromatography coupled to high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF MS) has been applied to evaluate organic pollution in a hyper-saline aquatic environment. Firstly, a target screening was made for a list of 150 GC-amenable organic micro-contaminants, including PAHs, octyl/nonyl phenols, PCBs, PBDEs, and a notable number of pesticides, such us insecticides (organochlorines, organophosphorus, carbamates and pyrethroids), herbicides (triazines and chloroacetanilides), fungicides and several transformation products. This methodology was applied to brine samples, with a salt content from 112 g/L to saturation, and to samples from Artemia populations (crustacean Anostraca) collected during 1 year from three sampling stations in saltworks bodies sited in the Ebro river delta.

Long-term effect of temperature on bioaccumulation of dietary metals and metallothionein induction in Sparus aurata.

Previous studies have demonstrated that the commercial feed of aquacultured fish contains trace amounts of toxic and essential metals which can accumulate in tissues and finally be ingested by consumers. Recently rising temperatures, associated to the global warming phenomenon, have been reported as a factor to be taken into consideration in ecotoxicology, since temperature-dependent alterations in bioavailability, toxicokinetics and biotransformation rates can be expected. Sparus aurata were kept at 22°C, 27°C and 30°C for 3 months in order to determine the temperature effect on metallothionein induction and metal bioaccumulation from a non-experimentally contaminated commercial feed.

Characterization of type "B" esterases and hepatic CYP450 isoenzimes in Senegalese sole for their further application in monitoring studies.

In fish, the role that cholinesterases (ChEs) play in tissues other than those implicated in neural activity, as well as the involvement of carboxylesterases (CbEs) and cytochrome P450 isoenzymes (CYPs) in drug metabolism needs investigation. For that, Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) specimens were selected for characterization of several type B esterases and hepatic CYPs in order to further use this fish as sentinel. ChEs (acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and pseudocholinesterases (butyrylcholinesterase-BuChE and propionilcholinesterase-PrChE)) and CbEs were measured in brain, plasma, kidney, liver, gonad, muscle and gills.