title: Transgenerational endpoints provide increased sensitivity and insight into multigenerational responses of Lymnaea stagnalis exposed to cadmium.
abstract: Ecotoxicology provides data to inform environmental management. Many testing protocols do not consider offspring fitness and toxicant sensitivity. Cadmium (Cd) is a well-studied and ubiquitous toxicant but little is known about the effects on offspring of exposed parents (transgenerational effects). This study had three objectives: to identify endpoints related to offspring performance; to determine whether parental effects would manifest as a change in Cd tolerance in offspring and how parental exposure duration influenced the manifestation of parental effects. Adult snails were exposed to Cd 0, 25, 50, 100, 200 and 400 μg Cd/L for eight weeks. There were effects on adult endpoints (e.g., growth, reproduction) but only at the highest concentrations (>100 μg/L). Alternatively, we observed significant transgenerational effects at all Cd concentrations. Surprisingly, we found increased Cd tolerance in hatchlings from all parental Cd exposure concentrations even though eggs and hatchlings were in Cd-free conditions for 6 weeks. Explicit consideration of offspring performance adds value to current toxicity testing protocols. Parental exposure duration has important implications for offspring effects and that contaminant concentrations that are not directly toxic to parents can cause transgenerational changes in resistance that have significant implications for toxicity testing and adaptive responses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Toxicology, The Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH), Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA. Electronic address: evelyn.reategui@ttu.edu.
authors.forename: Evelyn G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Reátegui-Zirena
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Toxicology, The Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH), Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA. Electronic address: bridgettefidder@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Bridgette N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Fidder
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Toxicology, The Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH), Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA; Intrinsik Environmental Science Inc., Mississauga, ME, USA. Electronic address: adric.olson@ttu.edu.
authors.forename: Adric D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Olson
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Toxicology, The Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH), Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA; Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, USA. Electronic address: dedawson@ncsu.edu.
authors.forename: Daniel E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Dawson
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Toxicology, The Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH), Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA; College of Agriculture, Clemson University, USA. Electronic address: bilbothomas@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Bilbo
authors.affiliation: Environmental Science and Studies, Towson University, Towson, MD, USA. Electronic address: csalice@towson.edu.
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Salice
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002104:Cadmium / Q000633:toxicity*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004361:Drug Tolerance; D054750:Ecotoxicology / Q000379:methods; D023381:Endpoint Determination; D008195:Lymnaea / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D012098:Reproduction / Q000187:drug effects; D018675:Toxicity Tests / Q000379:methods; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002104:Cadmium
keywords: Evolutionary toxicology; Freshwater invertebrate; Heavy metal; Multigenerational; Phenotypic plasticity