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3D - Exposure and effects of environmental contaminants in marine organisms (TUP/181) Differences in tolerance to fluoranthene among sibling species of Capitella capitata. Bach, Lis1, Palmqvist, Annemette1, Rasmussen, Lene1, Forbes, Valery1, 1 Roskilde University, Roskilde, DK, Denmark ABSTRACT- Bach L., A Palmqvist, L Rasmussen and VE Forbes. Department of Life Sciences and Chemistry, Roskilde University, Denmark. The polychaete Capitella capitata consists of a species complex within which differences in tolerance to toxicants have been observed. Previous studies in our laboratory have shown that Capitella sp. I takes up and biotransforms the PAH fluoranthene (Flu). Also, the resulting metabolites have been shown to cause DNA damage, which was almost fully repaired within 4 days, despite continued exposure. Another study in our laboratory has indicated that Capitella sp. S takes up Flu in a concentration dependent matter. However, to date the extent to which biotransformation of Flu by this species occurs is unknown. In the present study a detailed investigation was performed to examine differences in tolerance between two Capitella species (types I and S) and to determine the extent to which the difference is due to differences in activity of biotranformation or differences in DNA-repair capability. Biotransformation was determined using C14 labelled Flu, whereas the comet assay was used to estimate the genetoxic response i.e. DNA-damages caused by Flu and the subsequent repair of the Flu-induced DNA-damages. Our results indicate that there are marked differences between these closely related species in their ability to biotransform Flu and these differences are reflected in differences in survival between species and population-level responses. Key words: fluoranthene, polychaete, biotransformation, genotoxicity |
