title: Earthworms and soil pollutants.
abstract: Although the toxicity of metal contaminated soils has been assessed with various bioassays, more information is needed about the biochemical responses, which may help to elucidate the mechanisms involved in metal toxicity. We previously reported that the earthworm, Eisenia fetida, accumulates cadmium in its seminal vesicles. The bio-accumulative ability of earthworms is well known, and thus the earthworm could be a useful living organism for the bio-monitoring of soil pollution. In this short review, we describe recent studies concerning the relationship between earthworms and soil pollutants, and discuss the possibility of using the earthworm as a bio-monitoring organism for soil pollution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Environment Engineering, Faculty of Environmental Engineering, University of Kitakyushu, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, 808-0135, Japan. t-hirano@kitakyu-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hirano
authors.forename: Kazuyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tamae
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D009835:Oligochaeta / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D012989:Soil Pollutants