Acta Vet. Brno 2010, 79: 47-53

https://doi.org/10.2754/avb201079S9S047

Use of the Crustacean Artemia franciscana for Alternative Biotests

Petr Dvořák1, Katarína Beňová2, Michal Žďárský1, Zbyněk Sklenář1, Alena Havelková3

1Department of Biochemistry, Chemistry and Biophysics, Faculty of Veterinary Hygiene and Ecology, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Czech Republic,
2Department of Biology and Genetics, University of Veterinary Medicine Košice, Slovak Republic,
3Department of Physioterapy, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic

Received January 13, 2010
Accepted April 6, 2010

Use of the crustacean Artemia franciscana for alternative biotests of the second generation was studied, and possible experimental design and applications of such tests outlined. In addition to the classical use in ecotoxicology, the test can be used in pharmacology as well, or to monitor the effects of ionizing radiation in co-exposure with some chemical compounds. The synergistic effect of co-exposure of PCB (DELOR 103), cadmium chloride and potassium dichromate with beta 89Sr irradiation was shown. We also demonstrated the anti-oxidative and pro-oxidative effects of the ascorbic acid in dependence on its concentration. Use of the pharmaco-toxicological screening in search for the novel inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinases was demonstrated as well, showing that Artemia franciscana may be used as a suitable biosensor instead of the expensive tests on higher vertebrates.

Open full article