title: Metabolic responses of clams, Ruditapes decussatus and Ruditapes philippinarum, to short-term exposure to lead and zinc.
abstract: This study investigated the effects of 48h heavy metal exposure upon the metabolic profiles of Ruditapes decussatus and Ruditapes philippinarum using (1)H NMR metabolomics. Both species were exposed to increasing concentrations of lead nitrate (10, 40, 60 and 100μg/L) and zinc chloride (20, 50, 100 and 150μg/L), under laboratory conditions. ICP-OES analysis was further performed on the clams' samples in order to verify the occurrence of heavy metal bioaccumulation. With respect to the controls, the metabolic profiles of treated R. decussatus exhibited higher levels of organic osmolytes and lower contents of free amino acids. An opposite behavior was shown by R. philippinarum. In terms of heavy metal, the exposure effects were more evident in the case of Pb rather than Zn. These findings show that NMR-based metabolomics has the required sensitivity and specificity for the identification of metabolites that can act as sensitive indicators of contaminant-induced stress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Cagliari, S.S. 554 Bivio Sestu, 09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy.
authors.forename: Violetta
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Aru
authors.affiliation: Departement of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Via Ospedale 72, 09124 Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Giorgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sarais
authors.affiliation: Quality & Technology, Department of Food Science, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 26, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark; Department of Applied Science and Technology (DISAT), Polytechnic University of Turin, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino (TO), Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Savorani
authors.affiliation: Quality & Technology, Department of Food Science, University of Copenhagen, Rolighedsvej 26, 1958 Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
authors.forename: Søren Balling
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Engelsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Cagliari, S.S. 554 Bivio Sestu, 09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy. Electronic address: flaminia@unica.it.
authors.forename: Flaminia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cesare Marincola
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049872:Bivalvia / Q000378:metabolism*; D002712:Chlorides / Q000378:metabolism; D007854:Lead / Q000378:metabolism*; D055432:Metabolomics; D009566:Nitrates / Q000378:metabolism; D015032:Zinc / Q000378:metabolism*; D017967:Zinc Compounds / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002712:Chlorides; D009566:Nitrates; D017967:Zinc Compounds; D007854:Lead; C017461:lead nitrate; C016837:zinc chloride; D015032:Zinc
keywords: Bioindicators; Clams; Lead; NMR-based metabolomics; Pollution; Zinc