Assessment of seasonal variability of cytochemical responses to contaminant exposure in the blue mussel Mytilus edulis (complex).
A selected suite of cytochemical parameters in Mytilus edulis are altered in response to field and laboratory exposure to chemical contaminants. These biomarkers include lysosomal stability, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)-ferrihemoprotein reductase activity, liposfuscin deposition, and accumulation of lysosomal and cytoplasmic unsaturated neutral lipid. Normal variations in physiological processes (influenced by exogenous seasonal changes in temperature, salinity, food availability, etc.) may alter the sensitivity of these biomarkers to contaminant exposure. To address this issue, M. edulis (complex) were sampled monthly from a reference nonurban site (Coupeville, Penn Cove) and a polluted urban site (Seacrest, Elliott Bay) in Puget Sound, WA, for a period of 15 months. Physiological measurements including total length, total weight, somatic and mantle weights (an indication of gonadal development and reproductive status), condition index, and the presence or absence of hemic neoplasia (HN, or leukemia) were recorded. Significant differences in lysosomal stability, lysosomal and cytoplasmic unsaturated neutral lipids, lipofuscin deposition, and NADPH-ferrihemoprotein reductase activity in cells of the digestive gland or digestive tubules were generally found in mussels taken throughout the year from Seacrest compared to mussels sampled from Coupeville, consistent with exposure to chemical contaminants. No seasonally influenced suppression of the entire suite of parameters as measures of contaminant exposure was evident. Therefore these biomarkers can be used to evaluate contaminant exposure in mussels throughout the entire year.
Kagley
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AN
Environmental Conservation Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Newport, Oregon 97391, USA. anna.kagley@noaa.gov
Snider
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RG
Krishnakumar
P K
PK
Casillas
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E
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis*; D049872:Bivalvia / Q000502:physiology*; D001835:Body Weight; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005287:Ferredoxin-NADP Reductase / Q000032:analysis / Q000494:pharmacology; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008062:Lipofuscin / Q000378:metabolism; D008247:Lysosomes / Q000378:metabolism; D012098:Reproduction; D012621:Seasons; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000009:adverse effects*
D015415:Biomarkers; D008062:Lipofuscin; D014873:Water Pollutants; D005287:Ferredoxin-NADP Reductase