Biomarkers in Earthworms
Montserrat Solé
Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 312
2 Ecotoxicological Biomarkers: An Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
3 Biomarkers of Pesticide Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
4 Biomarkers of Metal Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
5 Biomarkers for Mixed Chemical Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
6 Biomarkers of Assessing Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Product Exposure . . . . . . . . 326
7 Biomarkers of Nanomaterial Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
8 Biomarkers of Plastics, Plasticisers and E-Waste-Related Exposures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
9 Earthworm Metabolism and Metabolite Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
10 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Abstract Soil-dwelling naturally occurring earthworms (e.g. Lumbricus terrestris)
are valuable sentinels in soil pollution monitoring for their ecological role but also
because they have shown to be sensitive to environmental contaminants. However,
most laboratory studies have adopted epigeic earthworms as models (Eisenia spp.) in
acute toxicity testing. In soil chronic toxicity assessment, it is essential to include
sublethal responses that can have direct implications on species performance, reproduction and behaviour and thus be of ecological significance. In this sense, some
biochemical biomarkers are regarded as early warning signals of further ecological
consequences. Amongst those most frequently considered are specific responses to
certain chemicals (e.g. metallothionein induction to metal exposure) but also those
related to oxidative homeostasis of the organisms because prolonged stress may lead
to adverse effects at the individual level (disruption of immune system, altered
growth and reproduction). Biomarker measures can be applied in specific tissues,
but, for methodological constraints, the consideration of the whole animal simplifies
protocols and, once validated, they are informative and integrative. The use of
M. Solé (*)
ICM-CSIC, Barcelona, Spain
e-mail: msole@icm.csic.es
Sandra Pérez Solsona, Nicola Montemurro, Serge Chiron, and Damià Barceló (eds.),
Interaction and Fate of Pharmaceuticals in Soil-Crop Systems: The Impact of
Reclaimed Wastewater, Hdb Env Chem (2021) 103: 311–338, DOI 10.1007/698_2020_628,
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020, Published online: 2 September 2020
311
Montserrat Solé
Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . 312
2 Ecotoxicological Biomarkers: An Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314
3 Biomarkers of Pesticide Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323
4 Biomarkers of Metal Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324
5 Biomarkers for Mixed Chemical Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
6 Biomarkers of Assessing Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Product Exposure . . . . . . . . 326
7 Biomarkers of Nanomaterial Exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327
8 Biomarkers of Plastics, Plasticisers and E-Waste-Related Exposures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
9 Earthworm Metabolism and Metabolite Identification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
10 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333
Abstract Soil-dwelling naturally occurring earthworms (e.g. Lumbricus terrestris)
are valuable sentinels in soil pollution monitoring for their ecological role but also
because they have shown to be sensitive to environmental contaminants. However,
most laboratory studies have adopted epigeic earthworms as models (Eisenia spp.) in
acute toxicity testing. In soil chronic toxicity assessment, it is essential to include
sublethal responses that can have direct implications on species performance, reproduction and behaviour and thus be of ecological significance. In this sense, some
biochemical biomarkers are regarded as early warning signals of further ecological
consequences. Amongst those most frequently considered are specific responses to
certain chemicals (e.g. metallothionein induction to metal exposure) but also those
related to oxidative homeostasis of the organisms because prolonged stress may lead
to adverse effects at the individual level (disruption of immune system, altered
growth and reproduction). Biomarker measures can be applied in specific tissues,
but, for methodological constraints, the consideration of the whole animal simplifies
protocols and, once validated, they are informative and integrative. The use of
M. Solé (*)
ICM-CSIC, Barcelona, Spain
e-mail: msole@icm.csic.es
Sandra Pérez Solsona, Nicola Montemurro, Serge Chiron, and Damià Barceló (eds.),
Interaction and Fate of Pharmaceuticals in Soil-Crop Systems: The Impact of
Reclaimed Wastewater, Hdb Env Chem (2021) 103: 311–338, DOI 10.1007/698_2020_628,
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020, Published online: 2 September 2020
311