Metal distribution and metallothionein in loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtles

Andreani, Giulia; Santoro, Mario; Cottignoli, Stefano; Fabbri, Marco; Carpenè, Emilio; Isani, Gloria

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2007.09.014

Cited by 99 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 26 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Cu decreased throughout the nesting season. This trend for Cu is difficult to explain but could be the result of an important maternal transfer to albumin combined with (1) a low dietary intake (little or no food intake during the nesting season to supply enough of this essential elements for females and eggs), (2) insufficient Cu reserves in liver and kidney where storage occurs (Andreani et al, 2008). Indeed, compared to Se and Zn, females' reserves for Cu could be low considering Cu concentrations in blood (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal transfer of trace elements in leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) of French Guiana

2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

a b s t r a c tIn sea turtles, parental investment is limited to the nutrients and energy invested in eggs that will support embryonic development. Leatherback females have the largest clutches with the biggest eggs of the sea turtles and the highest reproductive output in reptiles. The migration between foraging sites and nesting beaches also represents high energy expenditure. The toxicokinetic of pollutants in the tissues is thus expected to vary during those periods but there is a lack of information in reptiles. Concentrations of essential (Copper, Zinc, Selenium) and non-essentials elements (Cadmium, Lead, Mercury) were determined in blood (n = 78) and eggs (n = 76) of 46 free-ranging leatherback females collected in French Guiana. Maternal transfer to eggs and relationships between blood and eggs concentrations during the nesting season were investigated. All trace elements were detectable in both tissues. Levels of toxic metals were lower than essential elements likely due to the high pelagic nature of leatherbacks that seems to limit exposure to toxic elements. Significant relationships between blood and egg concentrations were observed for Se and Cd. Se could have an important role in embryonic development of leatherback turtles and Cd transfer could be linked to similar carrier proteins as Se. Finally, as multiple clutches were sampled from each female, trends in trace elements were investigated along the nesting season. No change was observed in eggs but changes were recorded in blood concentrations of Cu. Cu level decreased while blood Pb levels increased through the nesting season. The high demand on the body during the breeding season seems to affect blood Cu concentrations. Calcium requirement for egg production with concomitant Pb mobilization could explain the increase in blood Pb concentrations along the nesting season.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal transfer of trace elements in leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) of French Guiana

2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Some deep-sea fish species like Alepocephalus rostratus sequester heavy metals like Hg and Ag bound to MT under the synergy effects of Se (Siscar et al, 2014). Caretta caretta and Chelonia mydas also secretes mucus containing MT proteins that decrease Cu and Cd concentrations in hepatic and renal (Andreani et al, 2008). Generally, the MT expression level is dose-dependent on heavy metals.…”

Section: Structure Characteristics Of Mtsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics, functions, and applications of metallothionein in aquatic vertebrates

Weichao

Mao

et al. 2014

Front. Mar. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The documents on Metallothioneins (MTs) in aquatic creatures, especially focusing on their function as biomarkers in environmental monitoring programmes, are vast and increasing. There are, however, few papers to summary the physiological role of MTs in aquatic organisms especially on development. The multifaceted roles of MTs include involvement in homeostasis, protection against heavy metals and oxidant damages, and metabolic regulation, sequestration and/or redox control. In this paper, we have collected published information on MTs in aquatic organisms-pisces, amphibians, mammals, etc., and analyzed their function in these aquatic animals. MTs have four main functions in aquatic vertebrate. They are respectively bioaccumulation of toxic metals and detoxification, homeostatic regulation of metals, protection against oxidative stress and neuroprotective mechanism. MTs separate in different tissues and they have various distributions in different tissues of aquatic vertebrate, including liver, gills, kidney, testes, and brain. MTs can be induced by a variety of environmental and physiological factors, among which, heavy metals are the main kind of MTs inducers in aquatic vertebrate. Here we pay more attention on the essential metals copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) and the non-essential metals cadmium (Cd), silver (Ag), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg).

show abstract

“…Because sea turtles are long-living reptiles, these marine animals may bioaccumulate organic and inorganic contaminants obtained from food, sediment, and water (Storelli and Marcotrigiano 2003). Concerning metal contaminants, an assessment of available data indicates that concentrations of the essential elements (Zn and Cu) and non-essential elements (Cd) in sea turtles vary greatly among species (Caurant et al 1999;Godley et al 1999;Gardner et al 2006;Andreani et al 2008;Storelli et al 2008), and in the case of Cd, it can be inexplicably high (Caurant et al 1999;Sakai et al 2000;Anan et al 2001;Lam et al 2004;Gardner et al 2006;Andreani et al 2008;Storelli et al 2008). Thus, sea turtles are of increasing interest as potential bioindicators or sentinels of heavy metal pollution in marine ecosystems (Talavera-Saenz et al 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Validation of an in vitro cytotoxicity test for four heavy metals using cell lines derived from a green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas)

Tan

Wang

et al. 2009

Cell Biol Toxicol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ten cell lines established from juvenile green sea turtles were tested and evaluated for their cytotoxic responses to four heavy metals: cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), and copper (Cu). Following a 24-h exposure to these metal salts at selected concentrations, test cells were comparatively characterized by morphology, viability, and proliferation. Experimental results indicated that all these metal salts were cytotoxic to these turtle cell lines at varied concentrations. Calculated 10% and 50% inhibitory concentration (IC(10) and IC(50)) values revealed that the cytotoxicities of Cd and Cr were significantly more potent than the other two metal salts (p < 0.01). Comparative analysis of IC(10) values in these ten cell lines showed that turtle lung cells (GT-LG) are the most sensitive cell line to Cd, Cr, Zn, and Cu. Among these turtle cell lines, turtle liver cells (GT-LV) are more tolerant than other cells to Cd, Cr, and Zn, while GT-EYE cells are more tolerant to Cu, as determined by IC(50) values. Overall, GT-LG represents the most sensitive cells to heavy metal contamination and may be used for initial environmental monitoring, while the highly tolerant nature of GT-LV and GT-EYE cells to the tested heavy metals suggest their potential use as an emergency last-resort indicator of potential metal-related adverse effect on human health.

show abstract

Metal distribution and metallothionein in loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtles

Cited by 99 publications

References 26 publications

Maternal transfer of trace elements in leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) of French Guiana

Maternal transfer of trace elements in leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) of French Guiana

Characteristics, functions, and applications of metallothionein in aquatic vertebrates

Validation of an in vitro cytotoxicity test for four heavy metals using cell lines derived from a green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About