title: Gammarus fossarum (Crustacea, Amphipoda) as a model organism to study the effects of silver nanoparticles.
abstract: Amphipods are one of the most important components of freshwater ecosystems. Among them, gammarids are the most widespread group in Europe and are often used as bioindicators and model organisms in ecotoxicology. However, their use, especially of Gammarus fossarum for the study of the environmental impact of nanoparticles, has been rather limited so far. G. fossarum was selected to assess effects of well-characterized chemically synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs 20nm and 200nm) and "green" laboratory synthetized (from plant leaf extracts) AgNPs (AgNPs 23nm and 27nm). AgNO3 was used as a positive control to compare AgNPs effects and silver ions effects. A multibiomarker approach was used to investigate the sub-lethal effects of AgNPs on physiological and behavioural responses of G. fossarum. Two different experiments were carried out. In a preliminary experiment, two populations of G. fossarum (G.f1 and G.f2) were tested for sensitivity differences and the most sensitive one was exposed, in a final experiment, to sub-lethal concentrations of AgNO3 and the most toxic AgNPs. AgNO3 and AgNPs 23nm led to a significant decrease in survival rates, osmoregulation and locomotor activity. Ag internalisation, performed with Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS), showed the presence of silver in gills of G.f2 exposed to AgNPs 23 and 27nm. This study highlighted the influence of method of synthesis on ion release, uptake and toxic effects of AgNPs on G. fossarum. Osmoregulation appeared to be an effective biomarker indicating the physiological health status of G. fossarum. Locomotor activity, which was the most impacted response, reflects the potential effects of released ions from AgNPs 23nm at the population level as locomotion is necessary for foraging, finding mates and escaping from predators. Therefore, we propose G. fossarum as a suitable model for environmental nanotoxicology, providing information both at individual and population levels.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Research and Innovation (ERIN) Department, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), 5 avenue des Hauts-Fourneaux, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg; Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire des Environnements Continentaux (LIEC), CNRS UMR 7360, Université de Lorraine, Metz, France.
authors.forename: Kahina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mehennaoui
authors.affiliation: Environmental Research and Innovation (ERIN) Department, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), 5 avenue des Hauts-Fourneaux, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg; Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Gaustadalléen 21, NO-0349 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Anastasia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Georgantzopoulou
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire des Environnements Continentaux (LIEC), CNRS UMR 7360, Université de Lorraine, Metz, France.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Felten
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire des Environnements Continentaux (LIEC), CNRS UMR 7360, Université de Lorraine, Metz, France.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Andreï
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire des Environnements Continentaux (LIEC), CNRS UMR 7360, Université de Lorraine, Metz, France.
authors.forename: Maël
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Garaud
authors.affiliation: Environmental Research and Innovation (ERIN) Department, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), 5 avenue des Hauts-Fourneaux, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cambier
authors.affiliation: Environmental Research and Innovation (ERIN) Department, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), 5 avenue des Hauts-Fourneaux, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: Tommaso
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Serchi
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire des Environnements Continentaux (LIEC), CNRS UMR 7360, Université de Lorraine, Metz, France.
authors.forename: Sandrine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pain-Devin
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire des Environnements Continentaux (LIEC), CNRS UMR 7360, Université de Lorraine, Metz, France.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Guérold
authors.affiliation: Materials Research and Technology (MRT) Department, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, (LIST), 5 avenue des Hauts-Fourneaux, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: Jean-Nicolas
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Audinot
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire des Environnements Continentaux (LIEC), CNRS UMR 7360, Université de Lorraine, Metz, France.
authors.forename: Laure
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Giambérini
authors.affiliation: Environmental Research and Innovation (ERIN) Department, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), 5 avenue des Hauts-Fourneaux, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg. Electronic address: arno.gutleb@list.lu.
authors.forename: Arno C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Gutleb
mesh_terms: D033304:Amphipoda / Q000187:drug effects*; D000818:Animals; D054750:Ecotoxicology / Q000379:methods*; D005602:France; D005618:Fresh Water; D008189:Luxembourg; D008297:Male; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000633:toxicity*; D023421:Models, Animal; D012834:Silver / Q000633:toxicity*; D018675:Toxicity Tests; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D012834:Silver
keywords: Biomarkers; Gammarus fossarum; Locomotor activity; Osmoregulation; Silver nanoparticles