The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) can result in heart failure in Bd-susceptible species. Since Bd infection generally does not cause mortality in North American bullfrogs, the aim of this work was to verify whether this species presents any cardiac adaptation that could improve the tolerance to the fungus. Thus, we analyzed tadpoles' activity level, relative ventricular mass, ventricle morphology, in loco heart frequency, and in vitro cardiac function. The results indicate that infected animals present an increase in both ventricular relative mass and in myofibrils' incidence, which accompanied the increase in myocytes' diameter. Such morphological alterations enabled an increase in the in vitro twitch force that, in vivo, would result in elevation of the cardiac stroke volume. This response requires much less energy expenditure than an elevation in heart frequency, but still enables the heart to pump a higher volume of blood per minute (i.e., an increase in cardiac output). As a consequence, the energy saved in the regulation of the cardiac function of Bd-infected tadpoles can be employed in other homeostatic adjustments to avoid the lethal effect of the fungus. Whether other species present this ability, and to what extent, remains uncertain, but such possible interspecific variability might explain different mortality rates among different species of Bd-infected amphibians.

No abstract

The use of agrochemicals in agriculture is intense and most of them could be carried out to aquatic environment. Nevertheless, there are only few studies that assess the effects of these xenobiotics on amphibians. Clomazone is an herbicide widely used in rice fields, where amphibian species live. Thus, those species may be threatened by non-target exposure. However, nanoparticles are being developed to be used as a carrier system for the agrochemicals. Such nanoparticles release the herbicide in a modified way, and are considered to be more efficient and less harmful to the environment. The aim of this study was to comparatively evaluate the effect of clomazone in its free form and associated with nanoparticles, in the liver of bullfrog tadpoles (Lithobates catesbeianus) when submitted to acute exposure for 96 h. According to semi-quantitative analysis, there was an increase in the frequency of melanomacrophage centres, in the accumulation of eosinophils and in lipidosis in the liver of experimental groups exposed to clomazone - in its free form and associated with nanoparticles - in comparison with the control group, and the nanotoxicity of chitosan-alginate nanoparticles. The increase of melanomacrophage centres in all exposed groups was significant (P < 0.0001) in comparison to control group. Therefore, the results of this research have shown that exposure to sublethal doses of the herbicide and nanoparticles triggered hepatic responses. Moreover, these results provided important data about the effect of the clomazone herbicide and organic nanoparticles, which act as carriers of agrochemicals, on the bullfrog tadpole liver.

No abstract

No abstract