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Freshwater pond mesocosms were used to validate xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes as biomarkers of contamination by atrazine and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) in a basommatophoran gastropod, Lymnaea palustris (Muller). Over long-term (21-d) exposure to 5, 25, and 125 μg/L atrazine and to 0.5, 1.25, and 5 μg/L HCB, the uptake and internal concentration of both pesticides were followed, and the activities of benzo[a]pyrene hydroxylase (BaPH) and glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) of pesticide-exposed snails were compared with those of control animals maintained in untreated mesocosms. Internally recovered HCB concentrations were much higher than internal atrazine concentrations, but the uptake of atrazine was faster than that of HCB. Although it affected the integrity of microsomal membranes, HCB had no relevant effects on BaPH and GST activities at concentrations which affected growth and fecundity, thus confirming the low inducibility of mollusc xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes by chlorinated compounds. In contrast, atrazine markedly inhibited BaPH and both postmitochondrial and cytosolic GSTs at the same concentrations, which had no effects on growth or reproduction. Enzyme inhibition was negatively correlated with the maximal internal amount of atrazine and positively correlated with the bioconcentration factor, suggesting that effects on xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes may affect pharmacokinetics of atrazine within the snail body. Correlation between the bioconcentration factor and enzyme inhibition may serve as a descriptor of the physiological status of animals and can also be used to indirectly estimate the pesticide concentration in the environment. Laboratory data were considered for the interpretation of results obtained in the mesocosms. In the biomarker context, BaPH and GST activities are proposed, along with other biochemical markers already identified in atrazine- and HCB-exposed L. palustris, as elements of a multiparametric approach of the ecotoxicological effects of pesticides on freshwater ecosystems.

Freshwater mesocosms were used to study the long-term sublethal effects of atrazine and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) on a basommatophoran gastropod, Lymnaea palustris (Mueller). Growth, fecundity, and biochemical parameters related to polysaccharide metabolism of pesticide-exposed snails were compared with those of control animals maintained in untreated mesocosms. HCB inhibited body growth and stimulated egg production, whereas atrazine had no relevant effect on these physiological parameters. Also, HCB stimulated the activity of polysaccharide-hydrolyzing enzymes, suggesting that changes in the metabolism of reserve polysaccharides (glycogen) may be involved in the inhibition of growth and increase of fecundity. In contrast, atrazine had no effect on the metabolism of polysaccharides. It is concluded that the effects of HCB are related to its neurotoxicity that would have affected the neurohormonal control of growth and reproduction of exposed snails. It is suggested that polysaccharide-hydrolyzing enzymes may be used as biomarkers to predict the effects of neurotoxic pesticides on freshwater snail populations.

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