New insights into negative effects of lithium on sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus embryos.

ABSTRACT: The diffuse use of lithium in a number of industrial processes has produced a significant contamination of groundwater and surface water with it. The increased use of lithium has generated only scarce studies on its concentrations in ambient waters and on its effects on aquatic organisms. Only few contributions have focused on the toxicity of lithium in marine organisms (such as marine animals, algae and vegetables), showing that the toxic effect depends on the animal species. In the present study we describe the morphological and the molecular effects of lithium chloride (LiCl), using the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus as a model organism. We show that LiCl, if added to the eggs before fertilization, induces malformations in the embryos in a dose-dependent manner. We have also followed

SUBMITTER: Ruocco N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4999890 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature