Sergio Esposito, Stefano Loppi, Fabrizio Monaci, Luca Paoli, Andrea Vannini, Sergio Sorbo, Viviana Maresca, Lina Fusaro, Elham Asadi Karam, Marco Lentini, Alessia De Lillo, Barbara Conte, Piergiorgio Cianciullo, Adriana Basile
This study evaluates the effects of toxic metal pollution in the highly contaminated Sarno River (South Italy), by using the aquatic moss Leptodictyum riparium in bags at 3 representative sites of the river. Biological effects were assessed by metal bioaccumulation, ultrastructural changes, oxidative stress, as Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) production and Glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity, as well as Heat Shock Proteins 70 (HSP70s) induction. The results showed that L. riparium is a valuable bioindicator for toxic metal pollution of water ecosystem, accumulating different amounts of toxic metals from the aquatic environment...
2018: PloS One