From speciation to toxicity: Using a Two-in-One whole-cell bioreporter approach to assess harmful effects of Cd and Pb

Due to the sheer number of contaminated sites, bioavailability-based measurement and modeling of toxicity is used to triage response; despite advances, both remain relatively cumbersome. Cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) are two of the most toxic and globally prevalent pollutants, disproportionately impacting disadvantaged communities. Here we demonstrate the use of high throughput lights-on bioreporter technology to measure both speciation and toxicity. The organism's response is fit-for-purpose to parameterize the Biotic Ligand Model used in risk assessment of aquatic ecotoxicity and setting environmental Water Quality Criteria. Toxicity endpoints for analogous Cd and Pb models reported in literature average 71st and 44th rank-percentile sensitivity of Genus Mean Acute Values for acute toxicity (i.e., insensitive) in comparison to the bioreporter, the unique dual-mode measurement ability of which can predict toxicity endpoints from below the 5th percentile up to the 50th rank percentile. These results are extensible to other reporters, paving the way to cost-efficient environmental risk assessment of aquatic ecotoxicity for a wide range of priority toxic pollutants.

Automated summary

Due to the large number of contaminated sites, bioavailability-based measurement and modeling of toxicity are used for screening response, although they are relatively cumbersome. This study demonstrates the use of high throughput lights-on bioreporter technology to measure both speciation and toxicity of cadmium and lead. The bioreporter has a strong predictive ability for toxicity endpoints, making it useful for assessing the risk of aquatic ecotoxicity and setting environmental water quality standards.