Biomaterial Database

Toxicity of ingested cadmium to the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. 2011

S Höss, and K Schlottmann, and W Traunspurger

Ecossa, Giselastrasse 6, 82319 Starnberg, Germany. hoess@ecossa.de

Benthic organisms ingest dissolved and particle-bound contaminants together with their food, whereas it is not clear which fraction of the ingested suspension causes the toxic effects. In the standard toxicity test using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the organisms are fed with bacteria that bind contaminants, thus influencing the bioavailability of the contaminants for the organisms. To unravel the role of food bacteria in the toxicity of contaminants in C. elegans, suspensions with varying densities of bacteria were spiked with the toxic metal cadmium (Cd), either via the water or via the bacteria. The toxicity of Cd to C. elegans was clearly related to the uptake of bacteria in the nematode's gut. An increase in the bacterial density resulted in a significant decrease in the toxicity of Cd such that toxic effects better correlated with the aqueous than with the bacterial-bound or total Cd concentrations. The results suggested that the aqueous Cd that was ingested together with the food was the best available fraction and thereby mainly caused the observed toxicity on the reproduction of C. elegans.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008962	Models, Theoretical	Theoretical representations that simulate the behavior or activity of systems, processes, or phenomena. They include the use of mathematical equations, computers, and other electronic equipment.	Experimental Model,Experimental Models,Mathematical Model,Model, Experimental,Models (Theoretical),Models, Experimental,Models, Theoretic,Theoretical Study,Mathematical Models,Model (Theoretical),Model, Mathematical,Model, Theoretical,Models, Mathematical,Studies, Theoretical,Study, Theoretical,Theoretical Model,Theoretical Models,Theoretical Studies
D012098	Reproduction	The total process by which organisms produce offspring. (Stedman, 25th ed)	Human Reproductive Index,Human Reproductive Indexes,Reproductive Period,Human Reproductive Indices,Index, Human Reproductive,Indexes, Human Reproductive,Indices, Human Reproductive,Period, Reproductive,Periods, Reproductive,Reproductive Index, Human,Reproductive Indices, Human,Reproductive Periods
D002104	Cadmium	An element with atomic symbol Cd, atomic number 48, and atomic weight 112.41. It is a metal and ingestion will lead to CADMIUM POISONING.
D005516	Food Microbiology	The presence of bacteria, viruses, and fungi in food and food products. This term is not restricted to pathogenic organisms: the presence of various non-pathogenic bacteria and fungi in cheeses and wines, for example, is included in this concept.	Microbiology, Food
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001419	Bacteria	One of the three domains of life (the others being Eukarya and ARCHAEA), also called Eubacteria. They are unicellular prokaryotic microorganisms which generally possess rigid cell walls, multiply by cell division, and exhibit three principal forms: round or coccal, rodlike or bacillary, and spiral or spirochetal. Bacteria can be classified by their response to OXYGEN: aerobic, anaerobic, or facultatively anaerobic; by the mode by which they obtain their energy: chemotrophy (via chemical reaction) or PHOTOTROPHY (via light reaction); for chemotrophs by their source of chemical energy: CHEMOLITHOTROPHY (from inorganic compounds) or chemoorganotrophy (from organic compounds); and by their source for CARBON; NITROGEN; etc.; HETEROTROPHY (from organic sources) or AUTOTROPHY (from CARBON DIOXIDE). They can also be classified by whether or not they stain (based on the structure of their CELL WALLS) with CRYSTAL VIOLET dye: gram-negative or gram-positive.	Eubacteria
D017173	Caenorhabditis elegans	A species of nematode that is widely used in biological, biochemical, and genetic studies.	Caenorhabditis elegan,elegan, Caenorhabditis