title: Spatiotemporal variations in metal accumulation, RNA/DNA ratio and energy reserve in Perna viridis transplanted along a marine pollution gradient in Hong Kong.
abstract: We examined spatiotemporal variations of metal levels and three growth related biomarkers, i.e., RNA/DNA ratio (RD), total energy reserve (Et) and condition index (CI), in green-lipped mussels Perna viridis transplanted into five locations along a pollution gradient in the marine environment of Hong Kong over 120days of deployment. There were significant differences in metal levels and biomarker responses among the five sites and six time points. Mussels in two clean sites displayed better CI and significantly lower levels of Ag, Cu, Pb and Zn in their tissues than the other sites. Temporal patterns of RD in P. viridis were found to be site-specific. Across all sites, Et decreased in P. viridis over the deployment period, though the rate of decrease varied significantly among the sites. Therefore, temporal variation of biomarkers should be taken to consideration in mussel-watch programs because such information can help discriminate pollution-induced change from natural variation.
authors.affiliation: The Swire Institute of Marine Science and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Jamius W Y
authors.initials: JWY
authors.lastname: Yeung
authors.affiliation: The Swire Institute of Marine Science and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: zhougj01@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Guang-Jie
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: The Swire Institute of Marine Science and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China; State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: kmyleung@hku.hk.
authors.forename: Kenneth M Y
authors.initials: KMY
authors.lastname: Leung
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D004247:DNA / Q000378:metabolism*; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects*; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006723:Hong Kong; D008670:Metals / Q000633:toxicity*; D049883:Perna / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D012313:RNA / Q000378:metabolism*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D008670:Metals; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D012313:RNA; D004247:DNA
keywords: Biomarkers; Energy reserve; Metal; Perna viridis; RNA/DNA ratio