Toxicity of Chlorpyrifos and Dimethoate to the Ciliate Urostyla grandis, with Notes on Their Effects on Cell Ultrastructure

Chlorpyrifos and dimethoate are overused agricultural pesticides that can trigger trophic cascades, resulting in toxicity to both terrestrial and aquatic organisms as well as altered ecosystems. In previous studies, substantial attention has been given to the effects of pesticides on vertebrate species and, to a lesser extent, species of zooplankton. The present study was designed to show that the fission time effective concentration in ciliates is a potential aquatic detection index for environmental monitoring. The ciliate Urostyla grandis was treated with doses of chlorpyrifos and dimethoate. After exposed to the pesticides, the LC50 (i.e., concentration that killed 50% of the ciliate cells within 24 h) values were 0.029 mg L−1 for chlorpyrifos and 0.0685 mg L−1 for dimethoate. The fission time effective concentrations after 168 h of exposure were 0.0075–0.0093 mg L−1 for chlorpyrifos and 0.2640–0.2750 mg L−1 for dimethoate. These results show that the fission time effective concentration is lower than the LC50 value in ciliates, indicating that fission time effective concentration is more suitable than the LC50 value for environmental monitoring using ciliates. The effects of chlorpyrifos and dimethoate on ciliate cell ultrastructures included agglutination of chromatin in the macronucleus, protruded and discontinuous macronuclear and micronuclear membranes, loss of integrity of mitochondrial membranes and contents, and abscission and deformation of the adoral zone of membranelles.