Genotoxicity in Artemia spp.: An old model with new sensitive endpoints

Artemia spp. represent models species widely used in ecotoxicological studies due to its simple and fast manipulation in laboratory conditions that makes this crustacean well adaptable to several methodological approaches. Although cysts hatching, swimming behavior, reproductive success and mortality are the main endpoints used for the determination of toxicity, the detection of slight alterations induced by certain substances found at low concentrations in the environment may require more sensitive biomarkers. For this reason, the identification of DNA or chromosomal damages has been proposed as an additional and appreciable endpoint for the ecotoxicological assessment of environmental chemicals. Concerning Artemia models, only few studies indicated that the exposure to organic and inorganic compounds (i.e. pesticides, nanoparticles, bacterial products or heavy metals) can reduce the survival and fitness through the onset of DNA breaks or the dysregulation of key genes. In contrast, literature research revealed a lot of works primarily focusing on the mortality and hatching rates of Artemia nauplii and cysts despite the well-known low sensitivity of these species. The present review reports the current state of knowledge concerning the effects induced by various chemicals, including organic and inorganic compounds, on the common parameters and genotoxicity in both Artemia franciscana and Artemia salina. Advantages and limitations of Artemia spp. models in eco-toxicological investigations together with the most used classes of compounds are briefly discussed. Moreover, a mention is also addressed to scarce availability of literature data focusing on genotoxic effects and the great reliability of molecular approaches observed in this poorly sensitive model organism. Thus, the opportunity to take advantage of genotoxic analyses has also been highlighted, by suggesting this approach as a novel endpoint to be used for the eco-toxicological assessment of several stressors.