The Use of Mytilus Galloprovincialis Acetylcholinesterase and Glutathione S-Transferases Activities as Biomarkers of Environmental Contamination Along the Northwest Portuguese Coast

Abstract

With the aim of using Mytilus galloprovincialis acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and glutathione S-transferases (GST) activities as biomarkers of environmental contamination in risk assessment studies along the northwest Portuguese coast, the objective of this study was to provide background information related to: (1) baseline values of these enzymatic activities both in reference and contaminated areas and their responsiveness as indicators of exposure to environmental contaminants; (2) the importance of seasonal variations of such biomarkers in M. galloprovincialis along this area. For this, the activity of these enzymes was seasonally determined in mussels collected from four sites, including a reference and three stations with different contamination sources along the referred area. Statistically significant differences on both enzymatic activities were found among the four sampling stations, at the four sampling periods. In comparison to the reference station, lower AChE and higher GST activity values were found in mussels collected in stations potentially contaminated by pesticides and domestic/industrial effluents and in mussels collected in the vicinity of an oil refinery and an industrial/mercantile harbour, respectively. The results obtained in this work highlighted the potential suitability of these biomarkers to be used as components of environmental monitoring programs in risk assessment studies along the northwest Portuguese coast. Since a seasonal variation in both enzymatic activities was found, the possible implications of such variability in the use of these enzymes as environmental biomarkers are also discussed.

The ?Coral Bulker? Fuel Oil Spill on the North Coast of Portugal: Spatial and Temporal Biomarker Responses in Mytilus galloprovincialis

“…The present study proposed to assess the spatial and temporal impact of a fuel oil spill using the mussel M. galloprovincialis as biological indicator and two-biochemical biomarkers, GSTs and acetylcholinesterase AChE, as indicative criteria. These two biomarkers were selected since they shown to be sensitive indicators of exposure to urban and industrial effluents in a previous biomonitoring program, performed with M. galloprovincialis, in the north coast of Portugal during (Moreira et al 2004.…”

Expressions of oxidative stress-related genes and antioxidant enzyme activities in Mytilus galloprovincialis (Bivalvia, Mollusca) exposed to hypoxia

“…The genus Mytilus is common among marine mollusks; members of this genus occur along a wide latitudinal range in both hemispheres and play significant roles in the ecology of benthic and pelagic communities (Venier et al 2003;Aarab et al 2011). Members of the genus have become model study organisms because of their economic value in shellfish farming (Gueguen et al 2011) and their role as bioindicators (Moreira and Guilhermino 2005;Kayhan et al 2007). Molecular studies showed that changes in gene expressions can explain specific cell responses in mollusks, as exemplified by the enhanced expression of metallothioneins following exposure of mussels to toxic metals (Geffard et al 2005;Fasulo et al 2008).…”

Inhibition by Cu2+ and Cd2+ of a mu‐class glutathione S‐transferase from shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei

“…Regarding the effect of metals in GST activity, there are contradictory effects and diverse mechanism of action reported. Some authors report GST induction [12,14], whereas others reported GST inhibition [15,16]. Considering that it is common to have pesticide [17,18] and heavy metal contamination in coastal aquaculture sites [19,20], and that heavy metals facilitate the transmission of diseases in aquatic organisms [21], we pursued a biochemical approach to understand the role of cadmium and copper in the function of shrimp GST.…”