ISOPODS AS EFFICIENT ECOSYSTEM BIOINDICATORS: BIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS DETECTABLE IN FLOW CYTOMETRY AS GUIDELINES OF RAPID AND REPRODUCIBLE TEST FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

Flow cytometry (FC) has emerged as a powerful tool for detecting cell stress in different bioindicator organisms, mainly invertebrates, both marine and terrestrial (mussels, shrimps, clams, bees, warms and isopods). Isopods, such as Armadillidium vulgare, are well-established bioindicators due to their ability to accumulate contaminants in their tissues, mainly in the hepatopancreas, particularly in relation to ecological disturbances, since the hepatopancreas represents a primary site for pollutant storage. The hepatopancreas contains two distinct cell types: small (S) cells responsible for metal accumulation and big (B) cells involved in excretion. The present study employed the FC to assess cellular stress responses in isopods collected from diverse pollution/stress environments (clean, moderate, and severe stressed/polluted sites). This approach was supported by additional analyses, which provided corroborating cytometric data. Hepatopancreatic cells were isolated, and functional parameters, including cell death, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial activity, were evaluated using specific fluorescent dyes. The results obtained demonstrated a significantly higher level of dead and stressed cells in polluted sites compared to unpolluted areas, thus confirming the usefulness of FC in monitoring the environment. The findings suggest that isopod hepatopancreatic cells can serve as reliable indicators of ecological disturbance, offering potential applications in bioassessment protocols to monitor soil contamination. This research contributes to developing rapid, reproducible tests for evaluating environmental quality, with future efforts aimed at refining these techniques for broader field use.