title: Evaluation of a biomarker of Cd(II) exposure on Limnoperna fortunei.
abstract: The use of organisms to monitor contamination allows the access to information that cannot be acquired by chemical methods. Limnoperna fortunei, mussel frequently found in Río de la Plata estuary, fulfils the requirements to be used as a biomonitoring organism. In this work we report that a polypeptide of 22 kDa of molecular weight (LF22) is induced when L. fortunei is exposed to Cd (II), Cu(II) and Hg(II) sublethal levels. To characterize LF22, mussels were sampled from a non-polluted region and whole soft tissue was homogenized, with and without previous exposure to 100 microg/L of Cd(II). The cytosolic proteins were evaluated by mono and bidimensional SDS-PAGE, and size exclusion chromatography. All the methods showed that LF22 triples its concentration in presence of Cd(II). Purification of LF22 was achieved by fractioned precipitation, salting-out, ionic exchange and size exclusion chromatography. We conclude that LF22 is a useful biomarker of heavy metal exposure.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Bernal 1876, Argentina. mbelaich@unq.edu.ar <mbelaich@unq.edu.ar>
authors.forename: Belaich
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mariano
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Cristian
authors.forename: Pilloff
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marcela
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Porta
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001118:Argentina; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D049872:Bivalvia / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D002104:Cadmium / Q000378:metabolism; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D003300:Copper / Q000378:metabolism; D003600:Cytosol / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D008628:Mercury / Q000378:metabolism; D008970:Molecular Weight; D010455:Peptides / Q000032:analysis*; D045483:Rivers; D012623:Seawater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C521574:LF22 peptide, Limnoperna fortunei; D010455:Peptides; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002104:Cadmium; D003300:Copper; D008628:Mercury