title: Natural Marine and Synthetic Xenobiotics Get on Nematode's Nerves: Neuro-Stimulating and Neurotoxic Findings in Caenorhabditis elegans.
abstract: Marine algae release a plethora of organic halogenated compounds, many of them with unknown ecological impact if environmentally realistic concentrations are applied. One major compound is dibromoacetic acid (DBAA) which was tested for neurotoxicity in the invertebrate model organism Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans). This natural compound was compared with the widespread synthetic xenobiotic tetrabromobisphenol-A (TBBP-A) found in marine sediments and mussels. We found a neuro-stimulating effect for DBAA; this is contradictory to existing toxicological reports of mammals that applied comparatively high dosages. For TBBP-A, we found a hormetic concentration-effect relationship. As chemicals rarely occur isolated in the environment, a combination of both organobromines was also examined. Surprisingly, the presence of DBAA increased the toxicity of TBBP-A. Our results demonstrated that organohalogens have the potential to affect single organisms especially by altering the neurological processes, even with promoting effects on exposed organisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Freshwater and Stress Ecology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Späthstr. 80/81, 12437 Berlin, Germany. thora.lieke@gmx.de.
authors.forename: Thora
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lieke
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Freshwater and Stress Ecology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Späthstr. 80/81, 12437 Berlin, Germany. christian_ew_steinberg@web.de.
authors.forename: Christian E W
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Steinberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Freshwater and Stress Ecology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Späthstr. 80/81, 12437 Berlin, Germany. jjj0810@wmu.edu.cn.|Key Laboratory of Environmental Medicine Engineering, Ministry of Education, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China. jjj0810@wmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jingjuan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ju
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Freshwater and Stress Ecology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Späthstr. 80/81, 12437 Berlin, Germany. nadines1976@aol.com.
authors.forename: Nadine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Saul
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates / Q000633:toxicity; D000818:Animals; D001688:Biological Products / Q000633:toxicity*; D049872:Bivalvia / Q000737:chemistry; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000187:drug effects*; D004777:Environment; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D009348:Nematoda / Q000187:drug effects; D009420:Nervous System / Q000187:drug effects*; D020258:Neurotoxicity Syndromes / Q000209:etiology*; D011075:Polybrominated Biphenyls / Q000633:toxicity; D015262:Xenobiotics / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D001688:Biological Products; D011075:Polybrominated Biphenyls; D015262:Xenobiotics; C088674:dibromoacetic acid; C020806:tetrabromobisphenol A