title: Toxic effects of individual and combined effects of BTEX on Euglena gracilis.
abstract: BTEX is a group of volatile organic compounds consisting of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes. Environmental contamination of BTEX can occur in the groundwater with their effects on the aquatic organisms and ecosystem being sparsely studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the toxic effects of individual and mixed BTEX on Euglena gracilis (E. gracilis). We examined the growth rate, morphological changes and chlorophyll contents in E. gracilis Z and its mutant SMZ cells treated with single and mixture of BTEX. BTEX induced morphological change, formation of lipofuscin, and decreased chlorophyll content of E. gracilis Z in a dose response manner. The toxicity of individual BTEX on cell growth and chlorophyll inhibition is in the order of xylenes>ethylbenzene>toluene>benzene. SMZ was found more sensitive to BTEX than Z at much lower concentrations between 0.005 and 5 μM. The combined effect of mixed BTEX on chlorophyll contents was shown to be concentration addition (CA). Results from this study suggested that E. gracilis could be a suitable model for monitoring BTEX in the groundwater and predicting the combined effects on aqueous ecosystem.
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland, National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology (Entox), 39 Kessels Road, Coopers Plains, Brisbane 4108, Australia; Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC-CARE), Mawson Lakes, Adelaide 5095, Australia.
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, Soonchunhyang University, Asan-si, Chungcheongnam-do 336-745, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jong-Wha
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland, National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology (Entox), 39 Kessels Road, Coopers Plains, Brisbane 4108, Australia.
authors.forename: Homa Teimouri
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Sichani
authors.affiliation: The University of Queensland, National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology (Entox), 39 Kessels Road, Coopers Plains, Brisbane 4108, Australia; Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC-CARE), Mawson Lakes, Adelaide 5095, Australia. Electronic address: j.ng@uq.edu.au.
authors.forename: Jack C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Ng
mesh_terms: D001554:Benzene / Q000633:toxicity*; D001555:Benzene Derivatives / Q000633:toxicity*; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000737:chemistry*; D004249:DNA Damage; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D005056:Euglena gracilis / Q000187:drug effects*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D008062:Lipofuscin / Q000737:chemistry; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D014050:Toluene / Q000633:toxicity*; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D014992:Xylenes / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D001555:Benzene Derivatives; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D008062:Lipofuscin; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds; D014873:Water Pollutants; D014992:Xylenes; D002734:Chlorophyll; D014050:Toluene; D001554:Benzene; C004912:ethylbenzene
keywords: Cell toxicology; Chlorophyll; Combined effects; Mixed contaminants; Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)