Abstract
The metabolism of organic contaminants in Lymnaea stagnalis freshwater gastropod remains unknown. Yet, pharmaceuticals—like the NSAID diclofenac—are continuously released in the aquatic environment, thereby representing a risk to aquatic organisms. In addition, lower invertebrates may be affected by this pollution since they are likely to bioaccumulate contaminants. The metabolism of pharmaceuticals in L. stagnalis requires further investigation to understand their detoxification mechanisms and characterized the risk posed by contaminant exposure in this species. In this study, a non-targeted strategy using liquid chromatography combined with high-resolution mass spectrometry was applied to highlight metabolites formed in L. stagnalis freshwater snails exposed to 300 µg/L diclofenac for 3 and 7 days. Nineteen metabolites were revealed by this approach, 12 of which were observed for the first time in an aquatic organism exposed to diclofenac. Phase I metabolism involved hydroxylation, with detection of 3’-, 4’-, and 5-hydroxydiclofenac and three dihydroxylated metabolites, as well as cyclization, oxidative decarboxylation, and dehydrogenation, while phase II metabolism consisted of glucose and sulfate conjugation. Among these reactions, the two main DCF detoxification pathways detected in L. stagnalis were hydroxylation (phase I) and glucosidation (phase II).
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The authors thank the Platform Of Non-Target Environmental Metabolomics (PONTEM) of the Montpellier Alliance for Metabolomics and Metabolism Analysis (MAMMA) consortium facilities.
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This study was funded by a grant from Région Occitanie (Toulouse, France) and from Jean-François Champollion University Institute (Albi, France).
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Lucie Bouly: conceptualization, investigation, formal analysis, and writing. Hélène Fenet: supervision and review. Jean-Luc Carayon: investigation and resources. Elena Gomez: project administration. Florence Géret: supervision and review. Frédérique Courant: conceptualization, methodology, supervision, and review.
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Bouly, L., Fenet, H., Carayon, JL. et al. Metabolism of the aquatic pollutant diclofenac in the Lymnaea stagnalis freshwater gastropod. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 85081–85094 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21815-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21815-5