Óscar Herrero

National University of Distance Education | UNED · Departamento de Física Matemática y de Fluidos

The comet assay is a versatile method to detect nuclear DNA damage in individual eukaryotic cells, from yeast to human. The types of damage detected encompass DNA strand breaks and alkali-labile sites (e.g., apurinic/apyrimidinic sites), alkylated and oxidized nucleobases, DNA-DNA crosslinks, UV-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers and some chemic...

This paper characterizes the heat stress response (HSR) and explores the impact of temperatures on the immune response of larvae from two chironomid species, Prodiamesa olivacea and Chironomus riparius. Genes involved in crucial metabolic pathways were de novo identified in P. olivacea: Hsp27, Hsp60, Hsp70, Hsc70, Cdc37, and HSF for the heat stress...

Bisphenol A alternatives are manufactured as potentially less harmful substitutes of bisphenol A (BPA) that offer similar functionality. These alternatives are already in the market, entering the environment and thus raising ecological concerns. However, it can be expected that levels of BPA alternatives will dominate in the future, they are limite...

Over the past decade, multiple studies have suggested that the secondary metabolites produced by plants against herbivorous insects could be used as biopesticides. However, as the molecular mechanism of action of these compounds remains unknown, it is difficult to predict how they would affect non-target insects; thus, their innocuity needs to be c...

Many priority pollutants are concentrated in the environment due to human activity. Most are highly toxic to various organisms, including endocrine disruptors EDCs, aromatic polycyclic hydrocarbons PAHs, pesticides. While the effects of single and binary exposure have been widely explored, several pollutants can be simultaneously present at the sam...

El auge de la ingeniería genética y la biotecnología genera la necesidad de comprender los conceptos y procesos científicos necesarios que permitan a la ciudadanía, y más concretamente el alumnado de titulaciones afines a las ciencias biológicas, adquirir criterios para tomar decisiones sobre las ventajas o desventajas de su uso. La enseñanza y el...

Understanding the responses of insect herbivores to plant chemical defences is pivotal for the management of crops and pests. However, the mechanisms of interaction are not entirely understood. In this study, we compared the whole transcriptome gene expression of the aphid Macrosiphum euphorbiae grown on two different varieties of tomato that diffe...

Nowadays, extreme weather events caused by climate change are becoming more frequent. This leads to the occurrence of extreme habitats to which species must adapt. This challenge becomes crucial for species living in unstable environments, such as the riparian earthworm Eiseniella tetraedra. Its cosmopolitan distribution exposes it to various envir...

Epigenome is susceptible to modulation by environmental pressures—namely, through alterations in global DNA methylation, impacting the organism condition and, ultimately, reverberating on the phenotype of the subsequent generations. Hence, an intergenerational study was conducted, aiming to clarify the influence of genotoxicants on global DNA methy...

Heavy metals, like many other chemical elements, are naturally present in the environment; however, the concentrations of these metals in various environmental matrices have increased through their intensive use in many human activities (such as industry, mining and agriculture). Among the heavy metals, cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg) induce a wide v...

BACKGROUND Glandular trichomes are essential in plants' defence against pests however, the mechanisms of action are not completely understood. While there is considerable evidence of feeding and movement impairment by trichomes, the effect on other traits is less clear. We combined laboratory and greenhouse experiments with molecular analysis to un...

The physical-chemical properties of polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers give them attractive qualities for multiple applications, including biomedical purposes. Their use has significantly increased in recent years, and there is currently a lack of information on their potential adverse effects on biological systems, which raises particular concerns...

Along with traditional ecotoxicological approaches in model organisms, toxicological studies in non-model organisms are being taken into consideration in order to complement them and contribute to more robust approaches. This allows us to figure out the complexity of the exposures involved in natural ecosystems. In this context, in the present rese...

The potential benefits of reclaimed water (RW) uses for environmental enhancement and restoration could become adverse impacts if RW does not meet the quality criteria that ensure wildlife preservation. RW can contain complex mixtures of micropollutants that may accumulate in sediment after environmental uses and affect benthic fauna. Therefore, we...

Despite the concern about anthropogenic heavy metal accumulation, there remain few multi-level ecotoxicological studies to evaluate their effects in fluvial ecosystems. The toxicity of field-collected sediments exhibiting a gradient of heavy metal contamination (Cd, Pb, and Zn) was assessed in Chironomus riparius. For this purpose, larvae were expo...

Resumen El trabajo práctico en ciencias experimentales resulta imprescindible para aplicar el conocimiento teórico que adquiere el estudiante a lo largo de sus estudios. Sin embargo, la enseñanza a distancia plantea algunas limitaciones a la hora de proponer actividades prácticas que complementen a la programación teórica. El presente proyecto pret...

The toxicity of three field-collected sediments differentially contaminated with pesticides, heavy metals, phtalates and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), was assessed in Chironomus riparius. For this purpose, C. riparius larvae were exposed throughout their entire life cycle to sediments collected in three sites along the Saulx river in Fra...

Salvar la dificultad delos estudiantes para relacionar los conocimientos adquiridos en distintas asignaturas, que abordan conceptos relacionados con la diversidad biológica desde niveles de complejidad diferentes (molecular, estructural/funcional y adaptativo), constituye uno de los retos a los que nos enfrentamos los docentes de diferentes asignat...

El grupo BIOINNOVA es un Grupo de Innovación Docente de la Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), cuyas actividades se encuentran focalizadas en el campo de la enseñanza sobre la biodiversidad. Su objetivo principal es poder dotar a los alumnos de Ciencias Ambientales (CC.AA) de la UNED de herramientas integradoras de asignaturas rel...

Bisphenol S (BPS) is an industrial alternative to the endocrine disruptor bisphenol A (BPA), and can be found in many products labeled “BPA-free”. Its use has grown in recent years, and presently it is considered a ubiquitous emerging pollutant. To date there is a lack of information on the effects of BPS on invertebrates, although they represent m...

Presentación de la web del grupo de innovación educativa de Bioinnova en su segundo año de andadura. http://www.innovabiologia.com/

Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is a ubiquitous environmental pollutant used worldwide as a plasticizer and solvent in many formulations. Based on available toxicological data, it has been classified as toxic for reproduction and as an endocrine disruptor. Despite this, ecotoxicological studies in aquatic wildlife organisms are still scarce. In t...

Graphical abstract of the presented work. Acute exposures (24 to 96h) to a wide range of DEHP concentrations (1 ng/L to 0.1 g/L) caused no mortality in C. riparius larvae but led to a loss of mobility and coloring, and to a general decrease in the transcriptional activity of the studied genes. (TIF)

Despite being considered a model organism in toxicity studies, particularly in assessing the environmental impact of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and other chemicals, the molecular basis of development is largely unknown in Chironomus riparius. We have characterized the expression patterns of important genes involved in the ecdysone pathwa...

Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) has been extensively used worldwide as a plasticizer in the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) industry and the manufacturing of many other products, and its presence in the aquatic environment is expected for decades. BBP is included in the list of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), a...

Chironomids, sentinel organisms for the evaluation of water quality, are considered an outstanding model in Ecotoxicology for studying the effects of environmental pollutants. In contrast to its widespread use in studies with laboratory cultures, the use of natural populations (chronically exposed to complex mixtures of pollutants in their environm...

Biomarkers are an important tool in laboratory assays that link exposure or effect of specific toxicants to key molecular and cellular events, but they have not been widely used in invertebrate populations exposed to complex mixtures of environmental contaminants in their natural habitats. The present study focused on a battery of biomarkers and th...

Chironomids, a genus of non-biting midges, are considered sentinel organisms for the evaluation of water quality and an outstanding model in Ecotoxicology for studying the effects of environmental pollutants. In contrast to its widespread use in studies with laboratory cultures, the use of natural populations (chronically exposed to complex mixture...

Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is a high production volume chemical included on the first candidate list of “substances of very high concern” brought out by the European Chemicals Agency. Despite the available information, the basal cytotoxicity of this compound in mammalian cells is poorly understood. In this work, Vero cells derived from the...

Los ftalatos son compuestos plastificantes de amplio uso industrial y presencia ubicua en el medio ambiente. El di(2-etilhexil) ftalato (DEHP) y el butil bencil ftalato (BBP) son dos de los cinco ftalatos evaluados por la Agencia Europea de Sustancias Químicas y ambos están incluidos en su lista de sustancias candidatas que suscitan especial preocu...

A pesar de que los biomarcadores constituyen una herramienta importante en los ensayos de laboratorio, permitiendo vincular la exposición o el efecto de sustancias tóxicas con eventos clave moleculares y celulares, todavía no se ha hecho extensivo su empleo en poblaciones naturales de invertebrados expuestos a mezclas complejas de contaminantes amb...

Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, triclosan and propylparaben are contaminants of emerging concern that have been subjected to extensive toxicological studies, but for which limited information is currently available concerning adverse effects on terrestrial plant systems. The Allium cepa test, which is considered one of the most efficient approaches to a...

In this work, the effects of butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), two of the most extensively used phthalates, were studied in Chironomus riparius under acute short-term treatments, to compare their relative toxicities and identify genes sensitive to exposure. The ecotoxicity of these phthalates was assessed by analys...

We characterized the Hsp70 cDNA in Chironomus riparius and evaluated its expression profile under different environmental stressors. It is highly conserved, at both DNA and protein levels, displaying many of the hallmarks of Hsps and sharing 80-96% of overall amino acid identities with homologous sequences from other diptera. The changes are mainly...

Propyl p-hydroxybenzoate, commonly referred to as propylparaben, is the most frequently used preservative to inhibit microbial growth and extend shelf life of a range of consumer products. The objective of this study was to provide further insight into the toxicological profile of this compound, because of the current discrepancy in the literature...

Bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP; CASRN 117-81-7) is a high production volume chemical included on the first candidate list of substances of very high concern provided by the European Chemicals Agency, as it is a widely used plasticizer ubiquitous in the general environment and found in most samples, including air, precipitation, water, sediment,...

Propyl p-hydroxybenzoate, commonly referred to as propylparaben, is the most frequently used preservative to inhibit microbial growth and extend shelf life of a range of consumer products. The objective of this study was to provide further insight into the toxicological profile of this compound, because of the current discrepancy in the literature...

The development of in vitro cytotoxicity assays is currently essential to evaluate the potential human and environmental health risks associated to chemical exposure, and to limit animal experimentation whenever possible. However, cytotoxicity assessments have been limited by their inability to measure morphological alterations, that can reveal sub...

La presencia de contaminantes ambientales se asocia cada vez con más frecuencia con problemas en la salud humana (Alzheimer, Parkinson, infertilidad, feminización, cáncer, etc.). En muchas ocasiones las dosis de las sustancias químicas detectadas en el medio ambiente son inocuas en la exposición individual aguda, sin embargo, se desconocen los efec...

La dibucaina (2-butoxi-N-[2-(dietilamino)etil]-4-quinolina carboxamina, CAS No 85-79-0) es un anestésico local de tipo amida que tiene como principal diana farmacológica las membranas celulares del sistema nervioso. Diversos estudios han demostrado que este compuesto, además, es capaz de alterar diversas funciones celulares, especialmente aquellas...

El triclosán es un derivado estable del difenil eter con un elevado grado de lipofilicidad. Se trata de un compuesto antibacteriano que se ha empleado durante muchos años como biocida de amplio espectro. Esta circunstancia ha llevado a su incorporación de manera general en productos de limpieza doméstica y asistencia sanitaria, tales como jabones d...

La presencia en el medio ambiente de compuestos farmacéuticos procedentes del excedente de consumo y de la excreción sin metabolizar ha despertado gran interés debido a sus posibles implicaciones sobre la salud humana y ambiental. Entre ellos destaca la carbamazepina (CBZ), un fármaco anticonvulsivo que se prescribe actualmente a 90 millones de pe...

The ever growing anthropogenic pressure to the environment has lead in 2007 to the revision of the existing legislation and the approval of the new European law regarding the production and importation of chemicals, known as REACH. This new legal framework supports the development of alternative methods to animal experimentation encouraging the imp...

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a perfluorinated compound ubiquitously detected in the environment, including wildlife and humans. Despite the available information, research on the cytotoxicity of PFOA in non-tumoral mammalian cells is relatively limited. In this work, two in vitro toxicity systems were employed to provide further insight into th...

Dibucaine (2-butoxy-N-[2-(diethylamino)ethyl]-4-quinoline carboxamine, CAS No. 85-79-0), the most common amine local anesthetic drug, is known to interact with cellular membranes of the nervous system. This fact is the central point of its therapeutic target. Nevertheless, different studies show important secondary effects that might be related to...

Bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP; CASRN 117-81-7), a benzenedicarboxylic acid ester, is a widely used plasticizer ubiquitous in the general environment and found in most samples, including air, precipitation, water, sediment, soil and biota. Although the solubility of DEHP in water is low, the amount present in surface water may be higher because...

Adoption of the European law on chemical compounds (REACH) demands new experimental procedures on toxicology. Special encourage has been set onto the development of in vitro methods, so as to reduce animal testing to the minimum. Despite its intrinsic constraints, in vitro cell cultures appears a suitable approach for acute toxicity studies. To pr...

Rotenone (CAS No 83-79-4) is a natural isoflavonoid obtained from the roots of Leguminosae family plants. It has been used as a biocide due to its well-known high toxicity to fishes and insects. Nevertheless, other non-target organisms, including humans, might be affected by rotenone use, as it is also harmful to mammalian cells. In fact, recent st...

El interés por conocer los potenciales efectos tóxicos que los productos de aseo personal ejercen sobre la salud humana y el medio ambiente ha crecido mucho en los últimos años. Al mismo tiempo, han surgido dudas razonables acerca del valor de predicción que tienen los resultados obtenidos en la evaluación individual de compuestos químicos, a la ho...

Se reseña el empleo de los ensayos de corta duración para la caracterización de los residuos orgánicos, en especial de algunos de los métodos de evaluación toxicológica, mutagénica, genotóxica y citotóxica ( Vibrio fischeri , Salmonella typhimurium y Allium cepa ) que son empleados en la caracterización de lixiviados de mezclas complejas ambientale...

La utilización en agricultura de lodos de depuradora es una práctica común debido a que mejora la fertilidad y las propiedades físicas de suelos pobres o degradados, es un método económico para eliminar los lodos y supone un reciclaje y aprovechamiento de la materia orgánica y los nutrientes presentes en los mismos. La normativa europea considera m...

La presencia de contaminantes en aguas residuales, principalmente microcontaminantes orgánicos, puede afectar a la calidad de las aguas receptoras y suponer un riesgo medioambiental y para la salud pública. Las limitaciones de los análisis químicos tradicionales en la gestión de los efluentes han puesto de manifiesto la necesidad de emplear diferen...

El uso en agricultura de residuos como enmiendas orgánicas del suelo hace necesario el empleo de pruebas toxicológicas con las que evaluar los riesgos que para el medio ambiente y la salud podrían tener los distintos compuestos químicos que en dichos residuos se encuentran.