ABSTRACT
A study was carried out on the radiosensitivity of Biomphalaria glabrata embryos submitted to doses of 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 Gy of 60Co during the cleavage, blastula, gastrula, young trochophore and trochophore stages. Mortality, malformation and hatching were the parameters used to evaluate the damage induced by ionizing radiation. Estimated LD(50) values (15 days) showed that the cleavage stage (4.3 Gy) was approximately four times more radiosensitive than the trochophore stage (l7.0 Gy). Susceptibility to malformation induction was higher in the blastula, gastrula and young trochophore stages. Several types of morphogenetic malformations were observed, such as head malformations, exogastrulas, shell malformations, and embryos with everted stomodeum, with nonspecific malformations being the most frequent. The types of malformation induced by radiation probably are not radiation-specific and do not depend on the dose applied. The dose of 15 Gy was sufficient to greatly reduce the number of hatching snails regardless of the embryonic stage irradiated. We conclude that the effect of (60)Co gamma radiation on B.glabrata embryos presented a specific pattern.