engleski

Influence of copper on frogs' early development

Amphibians are the most threatened group of vertebrates and as such are of great interest in ecotoxicological research. In the latest years, utilization of nanomaterials is more widespread and due to that, the chance for its presence in the environment is increasing daily. One of these nanoparticles is copper which is used, among others, in certain pesticides and as such can easily find its way into the environment. In our study we examined the influence of nano and bulk copper on frog embryos and larvae. We tested the influence of a single exposure, at the beginning of the experiment, of four different concentrations of nano (declared size 40-60 nm) and bulk (ionic) copper on egg clutches of agile frog, Rana dalmatina. Each concentration was examined in triplicate, with 30 eggs each. Eight days after the last tadpole hatched, we homogenized tadpoles from each replicate and analyzed protein, lipid and glucose content and compared it to the control treatment. Our results show clear trend in increase of protein content with the increase of concentration in both nano and bulk treatment. The opposite trend is evident in carbohydrate content with the control treatment having higher recorded values, than both nano and bulk treatments. Content of lipids varied within nano treatment and was comparable to the control, and bulk treatment had lower lipid content than both, control and nano treatment. All these results suggest possible negative influence of nano and bulk copper on tadpole growth and metabolism.

Amphibia ; Ranidae ; Rana dalmatina ; nano particles ; ionic copper

nije evidentirano