Results of Halichondria panicea exposure experiment to crude oil and dipsersant contaminated seawater

In this study, two exposure experiments were conducted to determine the potential impacts of an oil spill and the use of dispersant on sponge model Halichondria panicea. First sponge samples were exposed for 48h to (1) water accommodated oil fraction (WAF), (2) chemically enhanced water accommodated oil fraction (CEWAF), (3) dispersant contaminated seawater, (4) Benzo-A-Pyrene in seawater and (5) DMSO in seawater. Clearance rate for each sponge samples was measured before (time point 1), during (time point 2) and after (time point 3) the exposure. Sponge tissue samples were also collected to conduct a transcriptomic analysis of sponge gene expression response. Second a new set of sponge samples were exposed for 48h to WAF and CEWAF solutions produced with increasing oil loadings. Clearance rate was measured in each samples at the end of the exposure and tissue samples were collected to determine the gene expression levels of three genes of interest (by qPCR).