CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Background and aims: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous,persistent, toxic and bioaccumulative pollutants, generated from the incompletecombustion of organic matter. In vascular plants, PAHs cause a decrease in biomass,alter the phenotype and inhibit photosynthesis. There is currently little informationabout their effect on bryophytes (sensu lato). Within this group, Lunularia cruciata(phylum Marchantiophyta) can colonize environments with anthropic impact andcould be used as a bioindicator for potentially toxic constituents. The objective ofthis work was to study the morphological and physiological changes of L. cruciataexposed to anthracene, to determine its possible role as an indicator organism.M&M: The plant was exposed to different concentrations of anthracene and germinationpercentage of gemma was evaluated, along with growth, bioaccumulation andchlorophyll content determined in thallus.Results & Conclusions: Anthracene did not affect gemma germination, although itcaused a ?rosette? morphology and decreased thallus growth. On the other hand,it was observed that L. cruciata accumulated anthracene in cell walls. Anthracenedid not affect the total chlorophyll content, although the ratio of chlorophylls a andb varied, with chlorophyll a decreasing and chlorophyll b increasing. This couldcause a decrease in photosynthetic yield, leading to reduced plant growth. Theresults demonstrated that this species is tolerant to anthracene and could be usedas bioindicator of PAH

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