Presence of pesticides and toxicity assessment of agricultural soils in the Quintana Roo mayan zone, Mexico using biomarkers in earthworms (Eisenia fetida)

Agriculture intensification and the use of pesticides have led to biodiversity loss due to soil toxic compounds. Thus, soil contamination studies are important to understand the negative effects in the physicochemical interactions. The use of biomarkers through bioindicators is a useful tool for assessing toxicity in agricultural environments complemented with the determination of pesticides. The objectives of this study were to determine the presence of organochlorine (OCPs) and organophosphate (OPPs) pesticides and the soil's potential toxicity in agricultural fields with different crops from the center of Quintana Roo State, using a set of enzymatic biomarkers (BMs), such as acetylcholinesterase (AChE), glutathione-S-Transferase (GST), and catalase (CAT) on earthworms (Eisenia fetida). Earthworms were exposed for 96 h on nine different agricultural soils as well as on a reference soil from a conservation area. Within all samples of soils, only OCPs were detected in low concentrations (ranged from non-detected to 1.40 ppm). However, no correlation was observed between these pesticides and the BMs activity. AChE and CAT activity was significantly inhibited in at least one agricultural soil if compared to the conservation area, while no significant differences of GST were observed. The AChE activity observed suggests the presence of anticholinergic substances (that were neither detected nor determined analytically) in the sampled soils. The characterization of oxidative stress BMs was not correlated with the OCPs analyzed. Our results demonstrate that further studies of toxicity under field conditions are required, given the complexity of environmental conditions outside the laboratory.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Andrade Herrera, Moisés Doctor autor 21742, Escalona Segura, Griselda Doctora autora 7231, González Jáuregui, Mauricio autor, Reyna Hurtado, Rafael Ángel Doctor autor 10474, Vargas Contreras, Jorge Albino autor 12341, Rendón von Osten, Jaime autor 12482
Format: Texto biblioteca
Language:eng
Subjects:Residuos de plaguicidas, Plaguicidas organoclorados, Lombrices de tierra, Eisenia fetida, Marcadores bioquímicos, Contaminación de suelos, Artfrosur,
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-019-4105-1
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Summary:Agriculture intensification and the use of pesticides have led to biodiversity loss due to soil toxic compounds. Thus, soil contamination studies are important to understand the negative effects in the physicochemical interactions. The use of biomarkers through bioindicators is a useful tool for assessing toxicity in agricultural environments complemented with the determination of pesticides. The objectives of this study were to determine the presence of organochlorine (OCPs) and organophosphate (OPPs) pesticides and the soil's potential toxicity in agricultural fields with different crops from the center of Quintana Roo State, using a set of enzymatic biomarkers (BMs), such as acetylcholinesterase (AChE), glutathione-S-Transferase (GST), and catalase (CAT) on earthworms (Eisenia fetida). Earthworms were exposed for 96 h on nine different agricultural soils as well as on a reference soil from a conservation area. Within all samples of soils, only OCPs were detected in low concentrations (ranged from non-detected to 1.40 ppm). However, no correlation was observed between these pesticides and the BMs activity. AChE and CAT activity was significantly inhibited in at least one agricultural soil if compared to the conservation area, while no significant differences of GST were observed. The AChE activity observed suggests the presence of anticholinergic substances (that were neither detected nor determined analytically) in the sampled soils. The characterization of oxidative stress BMs was not correlated with the OCPs analyzed. Our results demonstrate that further studies of toxicity under field conditions are required, given the complexity of environmental conditions outside the laboratory.