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Bioaccumulation and biotransformation of arsenic compounds in Hediste diversicolor (Muller 1776) after exposure to spiked sediments

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Abstract

This study focused on the exposure of the common ragworm Hediste diversicolor (Müller 1776) to sediments enriched with different arsenic compounds, namely arsenate, dimethyl-arsinate, and arsenobetaine. Speciation analysis was carried out on both the spiked sediments and the exposed polychaetes in order to investigate H. diversicolor capability of arsenic bioaccumulation and biotransformation. Two levels of contamination (acute and moderate dose) were chosen for enriched sediments to investigate possible differences in the arsenic bioaccumulation patterns. The highest value of arsenic in tissues was reached after 15 days of exposure to dimethyl-arsinate (acute dose) spiked sediment (1,172 ± 176 μg/g). A significant increase was also obtained in worms exposed both to arsenate and arsenobetaine. Speciation analysis showed that trimethyl-arsine oxide was the predominant chemical form in tissues of H. diversicolor exposed to all the spiked sediments, confirming the importance of this intermediate in biological transformation of arsenic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale (ISPRA), Piazzale dei Marmi 12, 57123, Livorno, Italy

    Andrea Gaion & Davide Sartori

  2. Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell’Ambiente, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60100, Ancona, Italy

    Alice Scuderi & Daniele Fattorini

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  1. Andrea Gaion
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  2. Davide Sartori
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  3. Alice Scuderi
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  4. Daniele Fattorini
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Correspondence to Andrea Gaion.

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Responsible editor: Henner Hollert

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Gaion, A., Sartori, D., Scuderi, A. et al. Bioaccumulation and biotransformation of arsenic compounds in Hediste diversicolor (Muller 1776) after exposure to spiked sediments. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 5952–5959 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-2538-z

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