Insights into the ecotoxicological perturbations induced by the biocide abamectin in the white snail, Theba pisana
Abstract Abamectin (avermectin B1, ABM) has been widely used as a biocide in agriculture, veterinary and medicine worldwide. In the current study, we aimed to evaluate the acute toxicity and sub-lethal biochemical responses of ABM on the non-target land snail, Theba pisana. Mortality of snails increased with the dose increase, resulting 48h- LD50 value of 1.048 µg/snail. Sub-lethal effects were studied on the survivors of 20% and 60% LD50 ABM doses and the biochemical parameters were assessed for up to 7 days of exposure. The results showed a decrease in glycogen content and lipids for two sub-lethal doses after all time intervals, whereas increased the level of total proteins after exposure to 60% LD50 ABM. Overall, the tested sub-lethal doses significantly decreased the total energy reserves. ABM-exposure to snails elevated γ-Glutamyl transferase (γ-GT) and Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities at all-time intervals. A significant increase of Glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activity was also recorded in snails exposed to 20% and 60% LD50 after 7 days and all time intervals, respectively. However, ABM inhibited the activity of Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) after 7 days of exposure. Our investigation provides new insights into the disturbances of energy reserves and enzyme activities in T. pisana snails that can be used as useful sentinel organism. Indeed, these tested biochemical parameters of the snails are sensitive and may be used as biomarkers for assessing ABM toxicity.