Integrated use of biomarkers (superoxide dismutase, catalase and lipid peroxidation) in mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis for assessing heavy metals' pollution in coastal areas from the Saronikos Gulf of Greece

Mussels are used as sentinel organisms and bioindicators to evaluate the toxic effects of chemical pollutants in marine organisms, especially heavy metals, representing an important tool for biomonitoring environmental pollution in coastal areas. Antioxidant defence enzymes play an important role in cellular antioxidant defence systems and protect from oxidative damage by reactive oxygen species (ROS). Indigenous mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis of the Saronikos Gulf of Greece were used for monitoring heavy metal pollution in three polluted sites in the area and in one unpolluted site. Seasonal variations of the activity of antioxidant defence enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), as well as lipid peroxidation (LP) were measured as biomarkers in a period of three years in relation to concentrations of trace metals in their gills and mantle and compared to mussels from an unpolluted sampling site. SOD activity increased at least 2 fold at the polluted sites when compared to the control site (the high activity was recorded in the spring time). CAT activity was increased 2-3 times at the polluted sites, with high activity in the winter and spring time, compared to the control site. LP concentration was twice higher at the polluted sites, following the same seasonal pattern. Trace metals contents in mussels collected at polluted sites were 3-4 fold higher compared to the control site and showed moderate variations along the months, with a winter maximum followed by a summer pre-spawning minimum matching the seasonal trends of temperature and salinity. Our results showed that metal pollution in the Elefsis Bay (the most polluted coastal area) causes relatively medium levels of oxidative stress in tissues of mussels due to cellular oxy-radical generation. This study, which is the first in the area, showed that seasonal variations of the activity of antioxidant defence enzymes and LP concentrations in mussels can be used as potential biomarkers of toxicity for long-term monitoring in marine coastal ecosystems.     

Minor improvement for intertidal seaweeds and invertebrates after acid mine drainage diversion at Britannia Beach, Pacific Canada

In December 2001, acid mine drainage (AMD) from an abandoned copper mine at Britannia Beach (British Columbia, Canada) was diverted to flow from Britannia Creek into an outfall at 30 m depth in Howe Sound. Britannia Beach was studied in early 2003 to determine whether AMD diversion resulted in improved conditions for intertidal organisms. Species number and abundance have increased at the intertidal zone since AMD diversion, although they were still lower than at an unpolluted control site nearby (Furry Creek). Survivorship and growth rates of transplanted Mytilus trossulus (mussel) have increased since AMD diversion, although they were still significantly lower than at the control site. Transplanted Fucus gardneri (seaweed) performed better than before the AMD diversion; at Britannia Beach the chlorophyll a concentration in tissues was not significantly different from that at the control site, although the concentration of chlorophyll c in tissues and the chlorophyll c to a ratio was lower than at the control site six weeks after transplantation. Britannia Beach is still subject to leaching of metals from surrounding soils, low levels of AMD coming down the creek, and AMD discharge from the deep outfall. Although there has been an improvement, the intertidal environment at Britannia Beach still seems unable to support normal growth and survival of organisms.     

Alkylbenzenes in mussels from South and South East Asian coasts as a molecular tool to assess sewage impact

Alkylbenzenes, molecular markers of sewage, were measured in 34 green mussels collected from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Philippines together with blue mussels collected from Tokyo Bay, Japan. Linear alkylbenzene (LAB) concentrations in South and South East Asian countries ranged from 10 to 1640 ng-∑LAB/g-dry tissue. In some populous cities, LAB concentrations were similar or higher than those found in northern Tokyo Bay which is heavily impacted by sewage effluents. I/E ratios (a ratio of internal to external isomers of LABs) in the South and South East Asian countries (1–3) were much lower than those in Tokyo Bay (3–8), indicating sewage discharged in the coastal zone is poorly treated (e.g., raw sewage and/or primary effluents). Alkylbenzenes with branched alkyl chains, tetrapropylene-based alkylbenzenes, were also detected in mussels from Indonesia and Philippines. This “tell-tale” sign indicates that poorly degradable detergents are still in use in this area, although they have long been phased-out in many industrialized countries.     

紫贻贝与厚壳贻贝杂交子代生长和存活比较

利用辽宁大连的紫贻贝(Mytilus galloprovincialis)与福建宁德的厚壳贻贝(M.coruscus)为亲本,采用2×2双列杂交设计,构建了紫贻贝自交组(M.galloprovincialis♀×M.galloprovincialis♂)、正交组(M.galloprovincialis♀×M.coruscus♂)、反交组(M.coruscus♀×M.galloprovincialis♂)与厚壳贻贝自交组(M.coruscus♀×M.coruscus♂)4个遗传组合,比较分析了受精率、孵化率、子代的成活率、生长数据等,探讨了紫贻贝与厚壳贻贝种间杂交的可行性,同时为贻贝良种选育提供参考。结果表明,自交组与反交组的受精强度具有不对称性,正交组与自交组受精率无差异,反交组的受精率及孵化率显著低于正交组与自交组(P0.05),且浮游幼虫不能正常存活;正交组子代具有生长优势,第9、11、13天的浮游幼虫及第78天的稚贝壳长均显著大于自交组(P0.05);正交组与紫贻贝自交组在整个幼虫阶段存活率无显著差异,在壳顶幼虫期显著高于厚壳贻贝自交组(P0.05)。     

化学物质诱导变态后紫贻贝稚贝的生长及存活

在以往实验的基础上,跟踪调查了筛选出的化学诱导物质对紫贻贝(Mytilus edulis)幼虫变态后的生长和成活率的影响,并比较了其与相同条件下自然诱导物、微生物膜诱导后的稚贝的生长和成活率.实验结果表明,肾上腺素、苯肾上腺素、可乐宁、KCI和NH_4Cl 5种化学物质均成功地诱导了该种幼虫的变态,其变态后稚贝同微生物诱导变态后的稚贝以相同的速度生长,且在培育过程中无死亡稚贝出现.因此,这些化学物质可作为该种养殖以及海洋防污染研究中幼虫变态的有效人工诱导物.     

紫贻贝(Mytilus edulis)养殖群体的遗传多样性及遗传结构分析

基于线粒体DNA的COⅢ基因序列对我国沿海重要经济贝类紫贻贝3个养殖群体(烟台、乳山、东极)的遗传多样性和遗传结构进行了研究。由PCR扩增获得32个体的COⅢ基因750bp的部分序列,其多态性遗传参数统计显示,32个个体共检出18个单倍型,总群体单倍型多样性指数(Hd)为0.946,核苷酸多样性指数(Pi)为0.0207,平均核苷酸差异数(K)为15.316,三个群体均显示出较丰富的遗传多样性。遗传分化系数(Fst)表明,东极群体与烟台群体及乳山群体已明显分化,而烟台群体和乳山群体间无遗传分化,并且存在着较大的基因流。     

Susceptibility to oxidative stress of mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) in the Venice Lagoon (Italy)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the susceptibility to pollutant mediated oxidative stress of the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis in the Venice lagoon (Italy).

In June 2003, mussels from a farm were transplanted to eight sites in the lagoon for five weeks. Oxidative stress responses were measured by: (i) total oxyradical scavenging capacity (TOSC) assay, for an overall evaluation of the oxidative stress response capability; (ii) catalase (CAT), as a key enzyme involved in the antioxidant defence system; (iii) malondialdehyde (MDA), as an indicator of lipid peroxidation, to evaluate an oxidative damage; (iv) metallothioneins (MTs), as they play a role in the antioxidant defence.

The TOSC analysis revealed a reduced capability to eliminate: (i) peroxyl radical in mussels transplanted at Palude della Rosa, Valle Millecampi and Chioggia; (ii) hydroxyl radical at Campalto and Valle Millecampi; (iii) peroxynitrite at Valle Millecampi.

Inhibition in CAT activity, observed in all the monitored sites, confirms the presence of an oxidative pressure in transplanted mussels.

In addition, Pearson correlation analysis was performed in order to observe possible links between the various parameters. The PCA was a powerful tool to discriminate impacted sites, suggesting that the mussels transplanted throughout the Venice lagoon were subjected to different levels of oxidative pressure. Furthermore, it provided an easy and useful tool to summarize the obtained results.     

Assessment of sacrificial anode impact by aluminum accumulation in mussel Mytilus edulis: a large-scale laboratory test

Since the early 1960s, the application of aluminum alloy sacrificial anodes to mitigate marine corrosion has been well known. The aim of this work was to study aluminum bioconcentration in Mytilus edulis by an in vitro test performed in two tanks: the first containing non-contaminated water (NCW) and the second containing aluminum-contaminated water (CW) (530 μg L⁻¹) released by sacrificial anode. The mussels were collected and examined over a period of 8 weeks. A comparison between the aluminum concentrations in the digestive glands of mussels from the CW and NCW tanks shows that the highest value (1700 mg/kg d.w.) was found in the CW mussels collected after 13 days. In NCW, the mean aluminum concentration in digestive glands during the test was 281 mg/kg d.w. The rapid concentration decrease in digestive glands is probably due to the inhibition of filtering activity due to valve closure at the high concentration as well as the induction of the detoxification response.     

Seasonal nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics during benthic clam and suspended mussel cultivation

Effects of suspended mussel and infaunal clam cultivation on sediment characteristics, and benthic organic and inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus fluxes were compared in a shallow coastal lagoon. The two species had different impacts on sediment features, but both created “hotspots” of nutrient fluxes with annual N and P regeneration rates being 4.9 and 13.5 (mussel) and 4.5 and 14.9 (clams) fold greater than those of unfarmed control sediments. Mussel farming also caused considerable nutrient regeneration within the water column with the mussel ropes contributing ∼25% of total inorganic N and P production and at times dominating the sediments (e.g. 95% of SRP production in summer and 45% of DIN production in winter). Such nutrient regeneration rates seriously question the proposal that suspension-feeding bivalves act as a eutrophication buffer, especially during summer when nutrient regeneration rates are maximal, but other nutrient sources (freshwater run-off and unfarmed sediments) are at their lowest.