Towards the development of an embryotoxicity bioassay with terrestrial snails: screening approach for cadmium and pesticides.

Currently no bioassays are available to assess the embryotoxicity of chemicals with terrestrial soil invertebrates. We therefore presented a new method for embryotoxicity testing with snail eggs: a relevant biological material that incubates in soil and that can be exposed to contaminants from leachates and soil solution. The effects of aqueous solutions of two herbicide formulations, Reglone(®) (active ingredient (a.i.), diquat) and Roundup(®) or its a.i., glyphosate, of a surfactant (Agral(®) 90, a.i., nonylphenol polyethoxylates) and of cadmium (Cd) were studied. Endpoints were the hatching success and observations of embryo abnormalities after exposure. Roundup(®) was found to be more toxic than its a.i. alone (EC50(a.i.)=18 mg/l and about 1300 mg/l, respectively). Reglone(®) (EC50(a.i.)=0.72 mg/l) and Agral(®) (EC50(a.i.) ≈ 50 mg/l) were also tested together, revealing that Reglone(®) accounted for more than 99% of the mixture's toxicity. An antagonistic interaction between the two substances was found. For Cd (EC50=3.9 mg/l), a significant transfer from exposure medium to eggs was emphasized, particularly affecting the albumen. Abnormalities of embryogenesis in non-hatched embryos depended on the substance and the concentration considered.