The use of land snail Cornu aspersum as sentinel organism to monitor air pollution

The use of bioindicator organisms for monitoring air pollution allow to assess real hazardous effects of airborne contamination over a geographical and temporal scale depending on selected species and scientific approach. The present study aimed to validate the use of the land snail Cornu aspersum as bioindicator of airborne pollutants effects by transplanting snails in plastic cages positioned in un urban area strongly impacted by several industrial activities nearby. Ten sites were selected based on winds directions and the distance from the main industrial area in order to assess pollutant distribution in terms of bioavailability and biological responses in a relatively short period of time. After four weeks trace metals levels in soft tissues of whole organism and several biochemical responses were investigated in different tissues and organs as: lysosomal membrane stability (LMS) and Micronuclei (MN) in hemocytes and antioxidant enzymes Catalase (CAT) and Glutatione-S-transferase (GST), lipid peroxidation (MDA) and total Metallothionein proteins content (MTs) in midgut gland. Results obtained by generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) revealed significant correlations among trace metals levels and biological responses investigated and with the distance from the main industrial site. Based on such findings and previous evidences of the ability of this species to respond to vaporized metals as cadmium in laboratory controlled condition, the present study support the suitability of C. aspersum as bioindicator for heavy metals exposure in air pollution monitoring studies.