G. Scheef et al., Cadmium accumulation in Moniliformis moniliformis (Acanthocephala) from experimentally infected rats, PARASIT RES, 86(8), 2000, pp. 688-691
The accumulation of cadmium in Moniliformis moniliformis parasitizing exper
imentally infected rats that had been orally exposed to cadmium was investi
gated in this study. Cadmium accumulation in the helminth and in different
tissues of the host was determined using electrothermal atomic absorption s
pectrometry (AAS) after a 3-week period of exposure. The mean cadmium conce
ntration measured in M. moniliformis was 5.8 mu g g(-1) wet weight, which w
as 20, 23, and 119 times higher than that determined in the kidney, liver.
and intestine of the host. respectively. Although female worms accumulated
higher amounts of cadmium than did males, no tendency emerged between the c
admium concentration and the weight of individual acanthocephalans. This st
udy reveals that cadmium accumulation also occurs in archiacanthocephalans,
but to a lesser degree than in palaeacanthocephalans parasitizing fish. Du
e to its cadmium-accumulation capacity, M. moniliformis might be used as a
highly sensitive free-living bioindicator in terrestrial and urban ecosyste
ms.