title: Effects of petrochemical contamination on caged marine mussels using a multi-biomarker approach: Histological changes, neurotoxicity and hypoxic stress.
abstract: This work was designed to evaluate the biological effects of petrochemical contamination on marine mussels. Mytilus galloprovincialis, widely used as sentinel organisms in biomonitoring studies, were caged at the "Augusta-Melilli-Priolo" industrial site (eastern Sicily, Italy), chosen as one of the largest petrochemical areas in Europe, and Brucoli, chosen as reference site. Chemical analyses of sediments at the polluted site revealed high levels of PAHs and mercury, exceeding the national and international guideline limits. In mussels from the polluted site, severe morphological alterations were observed in gills, mainly involved in nutrient uptake and gas exchange. Changes in serotonergic and cholinergic systems, investigated through immunohistochemical, metabolomics and enzymatic approaches, were highlighted in gills, as well as onset of hypoxic adaptive responses with up-regulation of hypoxia-inducible factor transcript. Overall, the application of a multi-biomarker panel results effective in assessing the biological effects of petrochemical contamination on the health of aquatic organisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy. Electronic address: mmaisano@unime.it.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maisano
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Tiziana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Cappello
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Natalotto
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vitale
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Parrino
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giannetto
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oliva
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mancini
authors.affiliation: Institute for Coastal Marine Environment, National Research Center, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cappello
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mauceri
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy. Electronic address: sfasulo@unime.it.
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fasulo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D049878:Mytilus / Q000502:physiology*; D059392:Petroleum Pollution; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000633:toxicity; D012802:Sicily; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Acetylcholinesterase; Environmental toxicology; Gills; Hg; Hypoxia; Mytilus galloprovincialis; PAHs; Serotonin