Does lipophilicity of toxic compounds determine effects on drought tolerance of the soil collembolan Folsomia candida?
The ability of Collembola to survive drought stress is crucial for their distribution in the terrestrial environment. Previous studies have suggested that several toxic compounds affect the drought tolerance of Folsomia candida in a synergistic manner and that these compounds have the feature in common that they elicit their toxicity by causing membrane damage. We hypothesised that the detrimental effect of toxic chemicals on drought tolerance in F. candida depends on the lipophilicity (log K(ow)) of the compound because a higher log K(ow) would mean a closer interaction with membranes. In this study the three chemicals 4-nonylphenol, pyrene and p,p'-DDE were tested. Surprisingly, 4-nonylphenol, with the lowest log K(ow), was the most potent with respect to reducing drought tolerance followed by pyrene, suggesting that interactions between drought tolerance and chemical stress do not depend on lipophilicity alone.
Department of Terrestrial Ecology, National Environmental Research Institute, PO Box 314, Vejlsøvej 25, DK-8600 Silkeborg, Denmark.
Gitte
G
Skovlund
Christian
C
Damgaard
Mark
M
Bayley
Martin
M
Holmstrup
D000064:Acclimatization; D000818:Animals; D001181:Arthropods / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D004190:Disasters; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D012098:Reproduction; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D012995:Solubility; D018675:Toxicity Tests
D012989:Soil Pollutants