Exposure of Eisenia andrei (Oligochaeta; Lumbricidea) to Cadmium Polluted Soil Inhibits Earthworm Maturation and Reproduction but not Restoration of Experimentally Depleted Coelomocytes or Regeneration of Amputated Segments

Abstract

Exposure of Eisenia andrei (Oligochaeta; Lumbricidea) to cadmium polluted soil inhibits earthworm maturation and reproduction but not restoration of experimentally depleted coelomocytes or regeneration of amputated segments. Folia Biologica (Kraków) 64: 275-284. Lumbricid earthworms are often exposed to polluted soil. They are also commonly subjected to various stimuli and attacks by predators that induce extrusion of coelomocyte-containing coelomic fluid and/or the loss of body segments followed by the renewal of immune-competent cells and regeneration of tissues/organs. The aim of our investigations was to test the effects of exposure of the earthworm Eisenia andrei to cadmium-polluted soil, combined with electrostimulation-induced depletion of coelomocytes (i.e. amoebocytes and chloragocyte-derived eleocytes) or the surgical amputation of posterior segments, on earthworm maturation, reproductive output, and regenerative processes. Experimental worms were maintained up to 7 weeks either in unpolluted soil or in soil spiked with cadmium chloride (500 mg/kg air-dried soil). In juvenile worms, sexual maturation (measured by clitellum formation) was delayed and cocoon production was inhibited in Cd-exposed worms. Coelomocytes were significantly depleted by electrostimulation and the kinetics of their recovery was similar in worms kept in clean and cadmium polluted soils, in both exposure conditions amoebocyte recovery was faster than recovery of riboflavin-storing eleocytes. In adult worms, soil cadmium exposure inhibited reproduction but, at macroanatomical level, had a negligible effect on regeneration of amputated posterior segments, visible only on histological cross-sections.

Influence of soil contaminated with cadmium on cell death in the digestive epithelium of soil centipedeLithobius forficatus(Myriapoda, Chilopoda)

“…If there is a lack of substances (e.g., enzymes) autophagy does not participate in cell survival, so processes of cell death as degeneration are activated intensively (Tettamanti et al 2008;Franzetti et al 2012;Park et al 2013;Karpeta-Kaczmarek et al 2016;Romanelli et al 2016). Ultrastructural and structural changes caused by cadmium have been detected in different organs in invertebrates, e.g., muscles, gonads, suprapharyngeal and subpharyngeal ganglions, and digestive system (Dallai 1966;Lauverjat et al 1989;Vega et al 1989;Siekierska & Urbańska-Jasik 2002;Siekierska 2003;Hödl et al 2010;Takacs et al 2016;Yuan et al 2016;Bednarska et al 2016Bednarska et al , 2019. A similar phenomenon has been observed in 12-and 45-day treated animals of L. forficatus because quantitative analysis revealed that regardless of the time of exposure to Cd, the decrease in cell viability was about 13%.…”

Effects of cadmium on mitochondrial structure and function in different organs: studies on the soil centipedeLithobius forficatus(Myriapoda, Chilopoda)

“…Cadmium is a metal which, due to its high concentrations in air, water, and soil, rapid transport in the soil-plant-animal trophic chain, and high toxicity, is considered to be one of the most dangerous to both aquatic and terrestrial organisms (Descamps et al 1996;Satarug et al 2003;Wang et al 2013;Stalmach et al 2015;Tarnawska et al 2019). It affects different levels of body organization: from organs through tissues and cells to organelles and all the compounds synthesized (Vega et al 1989;Siekierska & Urbańska-Jasik 2002;Siekierska 2003;Hödl et al 2010;Babczyńska et al 2011;Takacs et al 2016;Yuan et al 2016;Bednarska et al , 2019Augustyniak et al 2017). Mitochondria are one of the organelles considered to be intracellular targets of cadmium.…”

The existence of fertile hybrids of closely related model earthworm species, Eisenia andrei and E. fetida

“…fetida are explicitly required by the international Guidelines [ 1 , 2 , 3 ] as test species in ecotoxicology (e.g. [ 4 – 7 ]), and are widely used as models for basic studies in vermicomposting (e.g. [ 8 , 9 ]), and biomedicine [ 10 – 12 ].…”