Gobbi Pietro

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Gobbi
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Pietro
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  • Preprint
    Benthic foraminiferal ultrastructural alteration induced by heavy metals
    ( 2017-10) Frontalini, Fabrizio ; Nardelli, Maria Pia ; Curzi, Davide ; Martín-González, Ana ; Sabbatini, Anna ; Negri, Alessandra ; Losada, Maria Teresa ; Gobbi, Pietro ; Coccioni, Rodolfo ; Bernhard, Joan M.
    Heavy metals are known to cause deleterious effects on biota because of their toxicity, persistence and bioaccumulation. Here, we briefly document the ultrastructural changes observed in the miliolid foraminifer Pseudotriloculina rotunda (d'Orbigny in Schlumberger, 1893) and in the perforate calcareous species Ammonia parkinsoniana (d'Orbigny, 1839) induced by exposure to one of three heavy metals (zinc, lead, or mercury). The exposure of these two benthic foraminiferal species to the selected heavy metals appear to promote cytological alterations and organelle degeneration. These alterations include a thickening of the inner organic lining, an increase in number and size of lipid droplets, mitochondrial degeneration, and degradation vacuoles and residual body proliferation. Some of these alterations, including the thickening of the inner organic lining and the proliferation of lipids, might represent defense mechanisms against heavy metal-induced stress.
  • Article
    Nanoparticle-biological interactions in a marine benthic foraminifer
    (Nature Research, 2019-12-19) Ciacci, Caterina ; Grimmelpont, Margot V. ; Corsi, Ilaria ; Bergami, Elisa ; Curzi, Davide ; Burini, Debora ; Bouchet, Vincent M. P. ; Ambrogini, Patrizia ; Gobbi, Pietro ; Ujiié, Yurika ; Ishitani, Yoshiyuki ; Coccioni, Rodolfo ; Bernhard, Joan M. ; Frontalini, Fabrizio
    The adverse effects of engineered nanomaterials (ENM) in marine environments have recently attracted great attention although their effects on marine benthic organisms such as foraminifera are still largely overlooked. Here we document the effects of three negatively charged ENM, different in size and composition, titanium dioxide (TiO2), polystyrene (PS) and silicon dioxide (SiO2), on a microbial eukaryote (the benthic foraminifera Ammonia parkinsoniana) using multiple approaches. This research clearly shows the presence, within the foraminiferal cytoplasm, of metallic (Ti) and organic (PS) ENM that promote physiological stress. Specifically, marked increases in the accumulation of neutral lipids and enhanced reactive oxygen species production occurred in ENM-treated specimens regardless of ENM type. This study indicates that ENM represent ecotoxicological risks for this microbial eukaryote and presents a new model for the neglected marine benthos by which to assess natural exposure scenarios.
  • Article
    Mercury-pollution induction of intracellular lipid accumulation and lysosomal compartment amplification in the benthic foraminifer Ammonia parkinsoniana
    (Public Library of Science, 2016-09-07) Frontalini, Fabrizio ; Curzi, Davide ; Canonico, Barbara ; Giordano, Francesco M. ; De Matteis, Rita ; Bernhard, Joan M. ; Pieretti, Nadia ; Gu, Baohua ; Eskelsen, Jeremy ; Jubb, Aaron ; Zhao, Linduo ; Pierce, Eric M. ; Gobbi, Pietro ; Papa, Stefano ; Coccioni, Rodolfo
    Heavy metals such as mercury (Hg) pose a significant health hazard through bioaccumulation and biomagnification. By penetrating cell membranes, heavy metal ions may lead to pathological conditions. Here we examined the responses of Ammonia parkinsoniana, a benthic foraminiferan, to different concentrations of Hg in the artificial sea water. Confocal images of untreated and treated specimens using fluorescent probes (Nile Red and Acridine Orange) provided an opportunity for visualizing the intracellular lipid accumulation and acidic compartment regulation. With increased Hg over time, we observed an increased number of lipid droplets, which may have acted as a detoxifying organelle where Hg is sequestered and biologically inactivated. Further, Hg seems to promote the proliferation of lysosomes both in terms of number and dimension that, at the highest level of Hg, resulted in cell death. We report, for the first time, the presence of Hg within the foraminiferal cell: at the basal part of pores, in the organic linings of the foramen/septa, and as cytoplasmic accumulations.