title: Impact of environmental pollution on caged mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis using NMR-based metabolomics.
abstract: Metabolic responses to environmental pollution, mainly related to Hg and PAHs, were investigated in mussels. Specimens of Mytilus galloprovincialis, sedentary filter-feeders, were caged in anthropogenic-impacted and reference sites along the Augusta coastline (Sicily, Italy). The gills, mainly involved in nutrient uptake, digestion and gas exchange, were selected as target organ being the first organ to be affected by pollutants. Severe alterations in gill tissue were observed in mussels from the industrial area compared with control, while gill metabolic profiles, obtained by (1)H NMR spectroscopy and analyzed by multivariate statistics, exhibited significant changes in amino acids, energy metabolites, osmolytes and neurotransmitters. Overall, the morphological changes and metabolic disturbance detected in gill tissues may suggest that the mussels transplanted to the contaminated field site were suffering from adverse environmental condition. The concurrent morphological and metabolomic investigations as applied here result effective in assessing the environmental influences on health status of aquatic organisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale F. Stagno d'Alcontres 31, 98166 Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Tiziana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cappello
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mauceri
authors.forename: Carmelo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Corsaro
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maisano
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Parrino
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lo Paro
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Messina
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fasulo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008628:Mercury / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity; D055442:Metabolome / Q000502:physiology; D055432:Metabolomics; D049878:Mytilus / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity; D012802:Sicily; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D008628:Mercury
keywords: (1)H NMR; Caged mussels; Environmental metabolomics; Environmental pollution; Gills; Mytilus galloprovincialis