Comparison of Bioaccumulation and Biomarker Responses in Dreissena polymorpha and D. bugensis After Exposure to Resuspended Sediments

Abstract

The zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha is widely used as sentinel organism for the assessment of environmental contamination in freshwater environments. However, in the River Rhine (Germany), the D. polymorpha population is declining, whereas the closely related quagga mussel D. bugensis is found in high numbers at some sites. In the present laboratory study, D. polymorpha and D. bugensis were exposed to resuspended native sediments for ≤2 weeks. Wet sediments (<63 μm, 100 mg l(-1) dry weight) were used as surrogate suspended particulate matter to mimic one of the mussels' main uptake route for chemicals. The sediments were sampled in (1) the River Elbe in Dessau, a site known to be highly polluted with, e.g., organochlorine (OC) pesticides and (2) at a relatively unpolluted site in Havelberg in the River Havel, one of the Elbe's tributaries. Chemical analysis of persistent OC compounds (seven polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs], DDT and its metabolites (DDX), hexachlorocylohexanes [HCHs], and hexachlorobenzene [HCB]) in soft tissue of mussels showed significantly greater values of PCBs 101, 118, 153, 138, 180, the sum of seven PCBs, and p,p'-DDD in D. bugensis compared with D. polymorpha. Fourteen days of exposure to Dessau sediment increased the concentration of p,p'-DDE and p,p'-DDD, as well as the sum of DDX, in both species compared with Havelberg sediment. Interspecific differences were less pronounced when regarding chemical concentrations with lipid content instead of dry-weight of tissue because D. bugensis had greater levels of total lipid than D. polymorpha. DNA damage in gills, as measured with the comet assay, was greater in D. bugensis compared with D. polymorpha. Simultaneously, the content of heat-shock protein (hsp70) in gills was greater in D. polymorpha than in D. bugensis. DNA damage and hsp70 were not induced by exposure time or sediment type. This study shows that D. bugensis and D. polymorpha may differ in their bioaccumulation potential of OC pesticides as well as their levels of DNA damage and hsp70. Therefore, more investigations are needed before quagga mussel can be used as alternative test organism for the zebra mussel.

Interspecies comparison of selected pollution biomarkers in dreissenid spp. inhabiting pristine and moderately polluted sites

“…The statistical evaluation of data outlined insignificant interspecies differences for the studied biomarkers, although in general consistently higher expression of all endpoints considered was observed for D. polymorpha. Inconsistent interspecies differences in susceptibility to contaminants for the two dreissenids have been previously reported by Schäfer et al, (2012) who have recorded in a laboratory study significantly higher DNA damage in the gills of D. bugensis, and conversely significantly higher heat-shock protein content (hsp70) in D.…”

“…D. bugensis was proven to allocate more energy to soft tissue relative to shell length (Roe and MacIsaac, 1997), has higher assimilation efficiency (Baldwin et al, 2002), grows faster (Baldwin et al, 2002;Karatayev et al, 2011;Le et al, 2011), filters at a higher rate (Diggins, 2001;Veltman et al, 2008) and was reported to have a lower respiration rate (Stoeckmann, 2003). Interspecies differences were also found for the accumulation of metals and organic contaminants, in general with higher contaminant burdens in D. polymorpha (Rutzke et al, 2000;Richman and Somers, 2005;Schäfer et al, 2012;Matthews et al, 2015). In the meantime, while several studies have addressed the interspecies variability in biomarker responses to chemical stress in different aquatic invertebrates, in the case of dreissenids these issues have seldom been addressed.…”

Mussel as a Tool to Define Continental Watershed Quality

“…Despite its high invasive potential, zebra mussel populations have been recently reported to decline such as in the Rhine River [80] or in the Seine River where some populations seem to have disappeared since a dozen years (personal observations). In the meantime, the closely related quagga mussel D. rostriformis bugensis [81] became in turn invasive in Europe and North America.…”

“…Some studies focused on differential xenobiotics accumulation between the two species, mostly on metals and given scarce or inconclusive information [92][93][94][95]. Schäfer et al [80] also showed differences between D. polymorpha and D. rostriformis in the bioaccumulation potential of pesticides from resuspended sediments. They showed that quagga mussel accumulates more organochlorine pesticides, with greater DNA damage and lower stress protein hsp70 content.…”

Biomarkers of oxidatively induced DNA damage in dreissenid mussels: A genotoxicity assessment tool for the Laurentian Great Lakes

“…In aquatic systems, bivalves are recognized as important biomonitors because of their ubiquity, abundance, easy sampling, and filter‐feeding lifestyle. Dreissenid mussels are useful monitoring organisms because they usually dwell in large numbers and are well adapted to naturally stressful environments . Dreissenid mussels in the Great Lakes have been used to monitor chemical contaminant levels for over two decades by the NOAA MWP and in recent years for mussel health assessment .…”