Lymnaea stagnalis and Ophryotrocha diadema as Model Organisms for Studying Genotoxicological and Physiological Effects of Benzophenone-3

Benzophenone-3 (BP-3) is a lipophilic organic compound that occurs naturally in flower pigments. Since it adsorbs ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the UVA and UVB regions, it is one of the most common UV filters found in sunscreen and cosmetic products. We explored by in vivo micronuclei (MNi) assay the genotoxic effects of BP-3 on hemocytes from the freshwater gastropod Lymnaea stagnalis. We also studied its possible toxic effects on life-history traits: body growth in L. stagnalis and egg production of both L. stagnalis and the marine polychaete worm Ophryotrocha diadema. Adult individuals were exposed to increasing concentrations of BP-3 (0.025, 0.050, 0.100, and 0.200 mg/L) once a week for 4 weeks. In L. stagnalis, exposure to BP-3 at concentrations of both 0.2 and 0.1 mg/L produced genotoxic effects on the micronuclei frequencies, but only concentrations of 0.2 mg/L affected the NBUDs frequencies. Similarly, negative effects on body growth were observed at the concentrations of 0.2 and 0.1 mg/L and a significant reduction of egg production at 0.2 mg/L. In O. diadema, a negative correlation between egg production and increasing BP-3 concentrations was observed. Our findings suggest the need for more stringent measures to reduce the presence of BP-3 in the environment.