Earthworms and soil pollutants

Although the toxicity of metal contaminated soils has been assessed with various bioassays, more information is needed about the biochemical responses, which may help to elucidate the mechanisms involved in metal toxicity. We previously reported that the earthworm, Eisenia fetida, accumulates cadmiu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sensors 2011-12, Vol.11 (12), p.11157-11167
Main Authors: Hirano, Takeshi, Tamae, Kazuyoshi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
earthworm
Eisenia fetida
Environmental Monitoring - methods
metal
Oligochaeta - drug effects
Oligochaeta - metabolism
oxidative DNA damage
Review
Soil Pollutants - metabolism
Soil Pollutants - toxicity
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Summary:Although the toxicity of metal contaminated soils has been assessed with various bioassays, more information is needed about the biochemical responses, which may help to elucidate the mechanisms involved in metal toxicity. We previously reported that the earthworm, Eisenia fetida, accumulates cadmium in its seminal vesicles. The bio-accumulative ability of earthworms is well known, and thus the earthworm could be a useful living organism for the bio-monitoring of soil pollution. In this short review, we describe recent studies concerning the relationship between earthworms and soil pollutants, and discuss the possibility of using the earthworm as a bio-monitoring organism for soil pollution.
ISSN:1424-8220
1424-8220
DOI:10.3390/s111211157