Potential toxicity of environmentally relevant perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) concentrations to yellow-legged gull Larus michahellis embryos

Perfluooctane sulfonate (PFOS) is considered an emerging pollutant because of its wide distribution in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, as well as its potential toxicity to living organisms. Although PFOS environmental levels and the adverse effects on classical model organisms in toxicological studies are well known, including developmental alterations and alteration of oxidative status, its toxicity to free-living species has been seldom investigated. The aim of this study was to assess the potential toxicity of environmental levels of PFOS to yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis) embryos under field experimental conditions. In a within-clutch experimental design, we injected two PFOS concentrations (100 ng PFOS/g egg weight and 200 ng PFOS/g egg weight) in ovo soon after laying. Eggs were collected when they reached the cracking stage. We investigated the effects of PFOS treatment, laying order and sex on both morphological and biochemical endpoints of embryos. Specifically, we assessed changes in embryo body mass and tarsus length, as well as in liver and brain mass. Moreover, the imbalance of oxidative status was evaluated in both liver and brain from embryos by measuring total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total oxidant status (TOS), while the levels of protein carbonyl content (PCO) and DNA fragmentation were measured as oxidative and genetic damage endpoints, respectively. The concentrations of PFOS we tested did not significantly alter the morphological endpoints, independently of laying order and sex. Similarly, embryo oxidative status and oxidative and genetic damage were not significantly affected by PFOS in ovo exposure. These findings suggest that current environmental PFOS levels do not affect early development of yellow-legged gull embryos.