Publication Date:
2022-05-26
Description:
© The Author(s), 2017. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here under a nonexclusive, irrevocable, paid-up, worldwide license granted to WHOI. It is made available for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Marine Micropaleontology 138 (2018): 83-89, doi:10.1016/j.marmicro.2017.10.009.
Description:
Heavy metals are known to cause deleterious effects on biota because of their toxicity,
persistence and bioaccumulation. Here, we briefly document the ultrastructural changes
observed in the miliolid foraminifer Pseudotriloculina rotunda (d'Orbigny in Schlumberger,
1893) and in the perforate calcareous species Ammonia parkinsoniana (d'Orbigny, 1839)
induced by exposure to one of three heavy metals (zinc, lead, or mercury). The exposure of
these two benthic foraminiferal species to the selected heavy metals appear to promote
cytological alterations and organelle degeneration. These alterations include a thickening of the
inner organic lining, an increase in number and size of lipid droplets, mitochondrial
degeneration, and degradation vacuoles and residual body proliferation. Some of these
alterations, including the thickening of the inner organic lining and the proliferation of lipids,
might represent defense mechanisms against heavy metal-induced stress.
Description:
The research
on Ammonia parkinsoniana was partially supported by the PRIN 2010-2011 Ministero
dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca (MIUR) (protocollo 2010RMTLYR) to RC. The
research on Pseudotriloculina rotunda was supported by the Polytechnic University of Marche
(PhD thesis of MPN).
Keywords:
Protist
;
Pollution
;
Miliolid
;
Ultrastructure
;
Cytoplasm
;
Ammonia
;
Pseudotriloculina
Repository Name:
Woods Hole Open Access Server
Type:
Preprint
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