Biochemical responses of the mussel Perna perna after exposure to environmental concentrations of the UV filter Benzophenone-3

Abstract

Personal care products, such as UV filters, are frequently present in aquatic ecosystems, but studies on their impact on marine organisms are still scarce. Here we addressed the effects of benzophenone-3 (BP-3) on the antioxidant status of Perna perna mussels exposed to concentrations of 0.1 and 3 μg.L⁻¹ for 72 h and 7 days. Glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione S-transferase (GST), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) activity and lipoperoxidation (MDA) were evaluated in the gills. A significant reduction (p < 0.05) in the activity of G6PDH and GPx was observed after exposure for 7 days to 0.1 µg.L⁻¹. However, no significant differences were observed in GST activity and MDA levels, independently of the exposure time. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed an association of BP-3 highest concentration with GR and MDA at 72 h and only with GR at 7 days of exposure. Similarly, the integrated biomarker response (IBR) demonstrated GR and MDA alterations. In conclusion, environmentally relevant concentrations of BP-3 altered antioxidant and auxiliary enzymes, which could cause long-term damage to P.perna mussels. The need to implement more efficient techniques in wastewater treatment systems is pointed out, especially in summer, when UV filters are used more frequently and abundantly.

Keywords:

• Oxybenzone
• biomarkers
• bivalve
• oxidative stress
• sunscreen

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to ‘Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES’ for the scholarship to Gabriel S. Cruz (PPGAQI - UFSC) and to ‘Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq’, process n° 3110099/2014-0, for financial resources provided for the execution of this work. Miguel Saldaña-Serrano is recipient of a PhD fellowship of the ‘Programa de Estudantes-Convênio de Pós-Graduação (PEC-PG/2018), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES’. Micheli R. de Castro is recipient of a post-doctoral fellow from CAPES (PNPD - 2018). We are grateful to ‘Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – CNPq’ for granting an undergraduate scientific initiation scholarship to Gabriel S. Coutinho (PIBIC/CNPq). We are also grateful to the marine farm ‘Paraíso das Ostras’ (Florianópolis, SC, Brasil) for animal supply and to Laboratory of Marine Molluscs (LMM - UFSC), for the partnership in the maintenance, initial acclimation, and supply of microalgae to feed the mussels. To the Research Group on Ecotoxicology Applied to Aquatic Organisms (ECOBIOTOX - FURG), for the assistance in the chemical analysis of water samples. To Ph.D Clarissa P. Ferreira for the preparation of the graphic abstract of the manuscript.

Authors’ contributions

Gabriel S. Cruz: Conceptualisation, Methodology, Collection organisms, Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing – original draft; Juliana R. Moser: Conceptualisation, Methodology, Formal analysis, Writing – review & editing; Miguel Saldaña-Serrano: Conceptualisation, Methodology, Formal analysis, Writing – review & editing; Camila L. V. Bastolla: Collection organisms, Analysis of biomarkers; Daína Lima: Collection organisms, Analysis of biomarkers; Carlos H. A. M. Gomes: Collection organisms, Performed the exposure; Micheli R. de Castro: Performed chemical analysis, Writing – chemical analysis methodology; Uclédia R. A. dos Santos: Performed the exposure; Gabriel S. Coutinho: Performed the exposure; Jacó J. Mattos: Writing – review & editing; Maria R. F. Marques: Conceptualisation, Methodology, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Writing – review & editing, Resources, Supervision.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.