Distribution and Association of Trace Metals in Soft Tissue and Byssus of Mytilus edulis from the East Coast of Kyushu Island, Japan

Abstract

Concentrations of Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu, Ag, Cr, Co Ni, Mn, andFe in soft tissues and byssi of blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) fromthree sites along the east coast of Kyushu Island, Japan, were determined byAAS method. Large inter-regional differences in metal concentrations in bothsoft tissues and byssi (Cu, Cd, and Pb and Cu, Pb, Co, Ni, Mn, and Fe,respectively) were recorded. Highly significant correlations (p< 0.01) were observed between tissue and byssal concentrations of Pb,Cu, Zn, and Mn. The tissue concentrations of Cu, Cd, and Pb were two ordersof magnitude greater in Mytilus edulis from expected to be themost contaminated locations compared to those from a nonindustrialized area. Intercomparison of the present study data with those published previouslyindicates that the soft tissue and especially byssus are useful in detectingsome areas of some metallic contaminants. The high concentrations of Cd, andespecially Pb and Cu, in Saganoseki mussels and moderately elevatedconcentrations of these metals in Akamizu mussels may be attributed to theanthropogenic emissions from a metallic refinery and an artificial fiberfactory, respectively. It is evident that, compared to the soft tissue, theincrease of Cu levels relative to Zn levels in the byssi of M.edulis are eight times higher, with a slope b (Cu/Zn) of 7.5 for byssusand 0.93 for soft tissue. This suggests that byssus, as compared to softtissue, is a more sensitive bioindicator for Cu. From the data obtained, thesoft tissue and especially byssi of M. edulis appear to be goodbioindicators for identification of coastal areas exposed to metalliccontaminants.

Byssus of the Green-Lipped Mussel Perna viridis (Linnaeus) as a Biomonitoring Material for Zn

“…Ikuta [23] found that when high levels of heavy metals were accumulated in the ST of the mussel M. edulis, these heavy metals would almost proportionally be transferred to the byssus. The byssus of M. edulis was shown to be a good biomonitoring tool for Cu [24] and Hg [6]. In this study, we have found that the byssus of P. viridis is a good biomonitoring instrument for Zn.…”

Study on the contamination of heavy metals and their correlations in mollusks collected from coastal sites along the Chinese Bohai Sea

“…Mytilus spp. have been considered to be potential biomonitors of toxic metals in marine ecosystems (Fowler and Oregioni, 1976;Koide et al, 1982;Szefer et al, 1997Szefer et al, , 1999aChase et al, 2001).…”

Current Approaches to Designing Nanomaterials Inspired by Mussel Adhesive Proteins

“…Mussels are known to accumulate metal ions in their byssal threads at a concentration significantly higher than that of the surrounding sea water [44,45]. Accumulation of these ions at such a high level is due to the presence of DOPA in the byssus [46].…”