Abstract
Potential advantages of using planarians such as Dugesia dorotocephala (Woodworth) to assay a number of different kinds of toxic effects are illustrated by our experiments on neurotoxicity of nicotine, developmental neurotoxicity and behavioral teratogenesis of methylmercuric chloride (MMC), and carcinogenesis of Cd and tetradecanoyl-phorbol-acetate (TPA). Various concentrations of nicotine in the culture water in which planarians were maintained produced acute neurotoxic effects, evident as disturbances in locomotor and fissioning behavior; planarians also acquired tolerance to nicotine. Behavioral teratogenesis in planarians is illustrated by the effect of subteratogenic concentrations of MMC on regeneration of the brain and behavior of decapitated specimens. Despite normal appearance of heads and brains of MMC-treated regenerates, significant deficits were noted in righting response, locomotion, and prey-catching behavior. EM observations revealed quantitative deficits in brain synapses of MMC-treated regenerates. Exposure to the carcinogens Cd and TPA produced a single kind of neoplastic tumor, a malignant reticuloma, in 76% of specimens treated jointly with sublethal concentrations of both chemicals. Toxicological responses of planarians can be compared to those of vertebrates.
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© 1991 Kluwer Academic Publishers
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Best, J.B., Morita, M. (1991). Toxicology of planarians. In: Tyler, S. (eds) Turbellarian Biology. Developments in Hydrobiology 69, vol 69. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-2775-2_53
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-2775-2_53
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