Quantifying synergistic environmental effects in water contamination is still an open issue. Here, we have analyzed geolocalized data of pollutants recorded in 2018 in surface and groundwater of Lombardy, one of the areas with the highest agricultural production rates, not only in Italy, but also in Europe. Both herbicides and insecticides are present at concentration levels above the legal limit, mainly in surface waters. Geolocalized analysis allows us to identify interesting areas particularly affected by a combination of multiple pesticides. We thus investigated possible synergistic effects of these compounds on the environment, using the alga C. reinhardtii as a biosensor. Our results show that exposure for 7 days to four compounds, that we found present together at high concentration in surface waters, was able to induce a stress in the algae, as indicated by the presence of palmelloids. Our work results in a pipeline that could easily be exported to monitor other territories in Italy and abroad.

Synergistic effects of contaminants in Lombardy waters / C.A.M. La Porta, M.R. Fumagalli, S. Gomarasca, M.C. Lionetti, S. Zapperi, S. Bocchi. - In: SCIENTIFIC REPORTS. - ISSN 2045-2322. - 11:1(2021 Jul 06), pp. 13888.1-13888.9. [10.1038/s41598-021-93321-6]

Synergistic effects of contaminants in Lombardy waters

C.A.M. La Porta
Primo
;
M.R. Fumagalli
Secondo
;
M.C. Lionetti;S. Zapperi
Penultimo
;
S. Bocchi
Ultimo
2021

Abstract

Quantifying synergistic environmental effects in water contamination is still an open issue. Here, we have analyzed geolocalized data of pollutants recorded in 2018 in surface and groundwater of Lombardy, one of the areas with the highest agricultural production rates, not only in Italy, but also in Europe. Both herbicides and insecticides are present at concentration levels above the legal limit, mainly in surface waters. Geolocalized analysis allows us to identify interesting areas particularly affected by a combination of multiple pesticides. We thus investigated possible synergistic effects of these compounds on the environment, using the alga C. reinhardtii as a biosensor. Our results show that exposure for 7 days to four compounds, that we found present together at high concentration in surface waters, was able to induce a stress in the algae, as indicated by the presence of palmelloids. Our work results in a pipeline that could easily be exported to monitor other territories in Italy and abroad.
Settore MED/04 - Patologia Generale
Settore FIS/03 - Fisica della Materia
Settore AGR/02 - Agronomia e Coltivazioni Erbacee
6-lug-2021
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/855298
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