Comparative analysis unveils the cadmium-induced reproductive toxicity on the testes of Pardosa pseudoannulata

ABSTR A C T Cadmium (Cd) pollution is one of the most serious heavy metal pollutions in the world, which has been demonstrated to cause different toxicities to living organisms. Cd has been widely suggested to cause reproductive toxicity to verte-brates, yet its reproductive toxicity to invertebrates is not comprehensive. In this study, the wolf spider Pardosa pseudoannulata was used as a bioindicator to evaluate the male reproductive toxicity of invertebrates under Cd stress. Cd stress had no effect on the color, size and length of testis. However, Cd significantly increased the contents of cat-alase, glutathione peroxidase and malondialdehyde, the antioxidants in the testis of P. pseudoannulata. Then we ana-lyzed the transcriptome of testis exposed to Cd, and identified a total of 4739 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) compared to control, with 2368 up-regulated and 2371 down-regulated. The enrichment analysis showed that Cd stress could affect spermatogenesis, sperm motility, post-embryonic development, oxidative phosphorylation and me-tabolism and synthesis of male reproductive components. At the same time, the protein-protein interaction network was constructed with the generated DEGs. Combined with the enrichment analysis of key modules, it revealed that Cd stress could further affect the metabolic process in testis. In general, the analysis of testicular damage and tran-scriptome under Cd stress can provide a novel insight into the reproductive toxicity of Cd on rice filed arthropods and offer a reference for the protection of rice filed spiders under Cd pollution.

Automated summary

Cadmium pollution is a serious issue that causes toxic effects on living organisms. This study focused on the reproductive toxicity of cadmium on invertebrates using the wolf spider as a bioindicator. The results showed that cadmium affected the antioxidants in the spider's testis and had an impact on spermatogenesis, sperm motility, metabolism and synthesis of male reproductive components.