The influence of salinity on the heat-shock protein response of Potamocorbula amurensis (Bivalvia).
For biomarkers to be useful in assessing anthropogenic impacts in field studies involving aquatic organisms, they should not be affected by naturally occurring changes in environmental parameters such as salinity. This is especially important in estuarine environments and for relatively unspecific biomarkers like heat-shock proteins (hsps, stress proteins). In this study, the heat-shock protein response was measured in the euryhaline clam, Potamocorbula amurensis, after exposure to a range of salinities reflecting normal and extreme environmental conditions in Northern San Francisco Bay, California. The ability to raise cellular hsp70 levels in response to heat-shock was significantly impaired in P. amurensis collected from a low (0.5 ppt) salinity field site, and after 14 day exposure to low salinity in the laboratory.
Werner
Ingeborg
I
Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Cell Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Aquatic Toxicology Program, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA. iwerner@ucdavis.edu
D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers; D049872:Bivalvia / Q000378:metabolism*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002140:California; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018869:Heat-Shock Response / Q000187:drug effects*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D012623:Seawater / Q000032:analysis; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013997:Time Factors
D015415:Biomarkers; D018840:HSP70 Heat-Shock Proteins; D012965:Sodium Chloride