Uptake and cellular distribution of cadmium in Mytilus edulis

Is the digestive gland of Mytilus galloprovincialis a tissue of choice for estimating cadmium exposure by means of metallothioneins?

“…The same process was observed in the southern Adriatic Sea, where the supply of inorganic nutrients to the upper layer is followed by increased primary production and downward fluxes of particulate matter in early spring (Boldrin et al, 2002). The abundance of food may affect feeding rates and rates of water transport across the gills of filter-feeding organisms, thereby affecting the uptake of metals from both solution and food (Janssen and Scholz, 1979). Free metal ion concentration is the key metal form for its uptake from the solution, while high concentration of metals in food suggests it is an important source of metals, too (Luoma, 1983).…”

Accumulation, loss and molecular distribution of cadmium inMytilus edulis

“…edulis (after values from Theede et al, 1979a). As the daily change of the concentration factor doubles in mussels additionally fed during contamination (Janssen & Scholz, 1979) and assuming an overall linear Cd uptake, the time to reach a new equilibrium state at elevated concentrations can be calculated to be about 300 days. This is of the same order of magnitude that SchulzBaldes (1974} has determined during lead uptake in M. edulls.…”

“…Thus, in the latter, the formation of metallothionein-like proteins cannot sufficiently explain the tolerance to extraordinarily high Cd concentrations in the mid-gut gland. Supplementary immobilisation of Cd in phagolysosomes in the digestive cells of the mid-gut gland of M. edulis (Janssen & Scholz, 1979) surely serves as a more effective protective mechanism, and at the same time could explain the relatively short biological half life of this metal in the common mussel. In vertebrates, Cd half lives (compiled by Friberg et al, 1976) …”

Exploring B/Ca as a pH proxy in bivalves: relationships between <I>Mytilus californianus</I> B/Ca and environmental data from the northeast Pacific

“…In aragonitic bivalves, faster crystal growth rates are associated with higher trace element enrichment because Ca-channels that transport ions through the calcification mantle become less ion-selective when Ca 2+ fluxes are higher to support faster crystal growth (Carré et al, 2006). Other data from Mytilus edulis show that trace element incorporation may increase with mussel filtration rates, which may also be indicative of higher trace element abundances associated with faster growth, albeit by a different mechanism (Phillips, 1976;Janssen and Scholtz, 1979). Furthermore, Takesue et al (2008) report trace element enrichment in the larger of two asymmetrical valves of the same individual of the aragonitic bivalve C. amurensis.…”