Toxicological effects of the sunscreen UV filter, benzophenone-2, on planulae and in vitro cells of the coral, Stylophora pistillata

    Authors

    C. A. Downs; E. Kramarsky-Winter; J. E. Fauth; R. Segal; O. Bronstein; R. Jeger; Y. Lichtenfeld; C. M. Woodley; P. Pennington; A. Kushmaro;Y. Loya

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Ecotoxicology

    Keywords

    Coral; Benzophenone-2; Cell toxicity; Coral planula; Sunscreen UV; filters; POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC-HYDROCARBONS; CHLOROPHYLL FLUORESCENCE RATIO; REPORTER GENE ASSAY; US VIRGIN-ISLANDS; BISPHENOL-A BPA; ESTROGENIC; ACTIVITY; ELECTRON-MICROSCOPY; DNA-DAMAGE; DEVELOPMENTAL TOXICITY; EMERGING CONTAMINANTS; Ecology; Environmental Sciences; Toxicology

    Abstract

    Benzophenone-2 (BP-2) is an additive to personal-care products and commercial solutions that protects against the damaging effects of ultraviolet light. BP-2 is an "emerging contaminant of concern" that is often released as a pollutant through municipal and boat/ship wastewater discharges and landfill leachates, as well as through residential septic fields and unmanaged cesspits. Although BP-2 may be a contaminant on coral reefs, its environmental toxicity to reefs is unknown. This poses a potential management issue, since BP-2 is a known endocrine disruptor as well as a weak genotoxicant. We examined the effects of BP-2 on the larval form (planula) of the coral, Stylophora pistillata, as well as its toxicity to in vitro coral cells. BP-2 is a photo-toxicant; adverse effects are exacerbated in the light versus in darkness. Whether in darkness or light, BP-2 induced coral planulae to transform from a motile planktonic state to a deformed, sessile condition. Planulae exhibited an increasing rate of coral bleaching in response to increasing concentrations of BP-2. BP-2 is a genotoxicant to corals, exhibiting a strong positive relationship between DNA-AP lesions and increasing BP-2 concentrations. BP-2 exposure in the light induced extensive necrosis in both the epidermis and gastrodermis. In contrast, BP-2 exposure in darkness induced autophagy and autophagic cell death. The LC50 of BP-2 in the light for an 8 and 24 h exposure was 120 and 165 parts per billion (ppb), respectively. The LC(50)s for BP-2 in darkness for the same time points were 144 and 548 ppb. Deformity EC20 levels (24 h) were 246 parts per trillion in the light and 9.6 ppb in darkness.

    Journal Title

    Ecotoxicology

    Volume

    23

    Issue/Number

    2

    Publication Date

    1-1-2014

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    175

    Last Page

    191

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000330966000006

    ISSN

    0963-9292

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