Influence of weight on the content of trace metals in tissues of Mytilus galloprovincialis (Lamarck, 1819): a forecast model

Abstract

Fifty seven samples of Mytilus galloprovincialis (Lamarck, 1819) collected along the breakwater barriers of Fano (station 1) and Pesaro (station 2), Adriatic Sea, Marche Region, central Italy, were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrometry and Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn concentrations in the soft tissues were measured. The aims of this work were the statistical analysis of Cd-weight, Cu-weight, Pb-weight, Zn-weight relationships, and the building of a tendency function that allows assessing with a good approximation the concentrations of a metal in different weight organisms. In Mytilus galloprovincialis the content of Cd proportionally grew with the weight and therefore its concentration was independent from this factor; while the concentration of Pb decreased as the weight increased. In both cases the accuracy of multiple regression models improved considering the variable 'site', while the same approach appeared not reliable for Cu and Zn, that were two essential metals. Our results showed that a tendency function was reliable, solid and able to predict to a very satisfying extent the concentration of non-physiological metals, like Cd and Pb; while it did not show a good approximation with real Cu and Zn contents.

Lead and other heavy metals (cadmium and mercury) accumulation in bivalve mollusks (Mytilus galloprovincialis, Ruditapes spp. and Crassostrea gigas) sampled in Sardinia in 2008-2012

“…I metalli pesanti accumulati nella polpa dei molluschi bivalvi, mostrano concentrazioni maggiori in determinati organi, in particolare nella ghiandola digestiva o epatopancreas, che svolge un ruolo attivo nella loro assimilazione, disintossicazione e/o eliminazione. La cinetica di contaminazione/decontaminazione non dipende infatti solo dal differenziale iniziale di concentrazione, ma anche da numerosi altri fattori (Soto et al, 1995;Boening, 1999;Casas e Bacher, 2006;Casas et al, 2008;Conti et al, 2008) come quelli chimico-specifici (legati all'elemento in traccia, al livello di contaminazione ed alle vie di contaminazione), quelli fisiologici del mollusco (legati a fattori speciedipendenti, al tasso di crescita ed alle variazioni di massa nel tempo, soprattutto se legate allo stato di maturità sessuale ed alla fase riproduttiva) e, infine, quelli ambientali (come la temperatura e la quantità/qualità del particolato alimentare disponibile). I molluschi esposti a metalli pesanti rispondono con due tipi di meccanismi di detossificazione (Amiard et al, 2006): o rendono il metallo non più biodisponibile attraverso la formazione di sali insolubili (come ad esempio i solfuri), oppure inducono la formazione di molecole a struttura organo-metallica, le metallotioneine, in grado di bloccare l'attività tossica del metallo (Ramsak et al, 2012).…”

Potential mechanisms of some selected heavy metals in the induction of inflammation and autoimmunity

“…They are also associated with nausea, asthma, increased spontaneous abortion, increased hair loss, dermatitis, and other health problems in humans. 79 However, there are contradicting studies regarding the roles of platinum in inflammation and autoimmune diseases. Cisplatin is a platinum-based type of chemotherapy used as cytotoxic agent in cancer chemotherapy.…”

Is Fucus a suitable biomonitoring organism for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contamination? A study from the Faroe Islands

“…Biomonitoring organisms are used for quantitative determination of specific contaminants in the environment. They provide an integrated assessment of the presence of pollutants by only responding to the fraction of ecotoxicological relevance (Conti et al 2008 ). An ideal biomonitoring organism for assessing local pollution needs to be easy to identify, sedentary, abundant, easy to collect, available to sample throughout the year, accumulator of the pollutant, and possible to analyse (Conti and Cecchetti 2003 ; Rainbow 1995 ).…”