Dataset for: Genotoxic response and mortality in three marine copepods exposed to waterborne copper

Copper (Cu) is an essential trace metal, but may also be toxic to aquatic organisms. While many studies have investigated the cytotoxicity of Cu, little is known about the <i>in vivo</i> genotoxic potential of Cu in marine invertebrates. We investigated the genotoxicity of Cu in two pelagic calanoid copepods <i>Acartia tonsa</i> and <i>Temora longicornis</i> and the intertidal harpacticoid copepod <i>Tigriopus brevicornis</i> by exposing them for 6 and 72 h to waterborne Cu (0, 6 and 60 µg Cu/L). A subsequent 24-h period in filtered seawater was used to investigate delayed effects or recovery. Genotoxicity was evaluated as DNA strand breaks in individual copepods using the comet assay. Cu did not increase DNA strand breaks in any of the species at any concentration or time point. Cu exposure did, however, cause 100% mortality in A. tonsa following exposure to 60 µg Cu/L. <i>Acartia tonsa</i> and <i>T. longicornis</i> were more susceptible to Cu-induced mortality than the benthic harpacticoid <i>T. brevicornis</i>, which appeared unaffected by the treatments. The results show major differences in Cu susceptibility between the three copepods and that acute toxicity of Cu to <i>A. tonsa</i> is not directly associated with genotoxicity. We also show that the comet assay can be used to quantify genotoxicity in individual copepods.

铜（Cu）是一种必需的微量金属，但对水生生物也具有潜在毒性。尽管已有诸多研究探讨了铜的细胞毒性，但目前对海洋无脊椎动物体内铜的遗传毒性潜力仍了解甚少。本研究以两种浮游哲水蚤——大西洋纺锤水蚤（Acartia tonsa）、长角哲水蚤（Temora longicornis），以及一种潮间带猛水蚤——短角猛水蚤（Tigriopus brevicornis）为受试对象，将其分别暴露于浓度为0、6和60 µg Cu/L的水溶态铜环境中，暴露时长设置为6小时与72小时。随后将受试生物转移至过滤海水中培养24小时，以探究延迟效应或损伤恢复情况。本研究采用彗星试验（comet assay），通过检测单个桡足类的DNA链断裂情况来评估遗传毒性。结果显示，在所有浓度与时间点下，铜均未使任意受试桡足类的DNA链断裂水平升高。但当暴露于60 µg Cu/L的铜环境中时，大西洋纺锤水蚤（A. tonsa）的死亡率达到100%。大西洋纺锤水蚤与长角哲水蚤对铜诱导死亡的敏感性显著高于底栖猛水蚤短角猛水蚤（T. brevicornis），后者未受各处理组的显著影响。研究结果表明，三种桡足类对铜的敏感性存在显著差异，且铜对大西洋纺锤水蚤的急性毒性与其遗传毒性并无直接关联。此外，本研究证实彗星试验可用于量化单个桡足类的遗传毒性水平。