title: Toxicological effects of the sunscreen UV filter, benzophenone-2, on planulae and in vitro cells of the coral, Stylophora pistillata.
abstract: Benzophenone-2 (BP-2) is an additive to personal-care products and commercial solutions that protects against the damaging effects of ultraviolet light. BP-2 is an "emerging contaminant of concern" that is often released as a pollutant through municipal and boat/ship wastewater discharges and landfill leachates, as well as through residential septic fields and unmanaged cesspits. Although BP-2 may be a contaminant on coral reefs, its environmental toxicity to reefs is unknown. This poses a potential management issue, since BP-2 is a known endocrine disruptor as well as a weak genotoxicant. We examined the effects of BP-2 on the larval form (planula) of the coral, Stylophora pistillata, as well as its toxicity to in vitro coral cells. BP-2 is a photo-toxicant; adverse effects are exacerbated in the light versus in darkness. Whether in darkness or light, BP-2 induced coral planulae to transform from a motile planktonic state to a deformed, sessile condition. Planulae exhibited an increasing rate of coral bleaching in response to increasing concentrations of BP-2. BP-2 is a genotoxicant to corals, exhibiting a strong positive relationship between DNA-AP lesions and increasing BP-2 concentrations. BP-2 exposure in the light induced extensive necrosis in both the epidermis and gastro dermis. In contrast, BP-2 exposure in darkness induced autophagy and autophagic cell death.The LC50 of BP-2 in the light for an 8 and 24 hour exposure was 120 parts per million (ppm) and 165 parts per billion (ppb), respectively. The LC50s for BP-2 in darkness for the same time points were 144 parts per million and 548 parts per billion [corrected].
authors.affiliation: Haereticus Environmental Laboratory, P.O. Box 92, Clifford, VA, 24533, USA, cadowns@haereticus-lab.org.
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Downs
authors.forename: Esti
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kramarsky-Winter
authors.forename: John E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Fauth
authors.forename: Roee
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Segal
authors.forename: Omri
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Bronstein
authors.forename: Rina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jeger
authors.forename: Yona
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lichtenfeld
authors.forename: Cheryl M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Woodley
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pennington
authors.forename: Ariel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kushmaro
authors.forename: Yossi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Loya
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D037421:Anthozoa / Q000187:drug effects*; D001577:Benzophenones / Q000633:toxicity*; D057894:Coral Reefs; D005374:Filtration; D007814:Larva / Q000187:drug effects; D007928:Lethal Dose 50; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D019055:No-Observed-Adverse-Effect Level; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013473:Sunscreening Agents / Q000633:toxicity*; D018675:Toxicity Tests; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D001577:Benzophenones; D013473:Sunscreening Agents; C035476:2,2',4,4'-tetrahydroxybenzophenone