Physiological–biochemical properties of blue mussel Mytilus edulis adaptation to oil contamination

Abstract

Bivalves have a known ability to accumulate different contaminants from ambient water and can therefore serve as bioindicators. The paper analyses certain biochemical and physiological parameters of blue mussels in response to varying oil product concentrations. The heart rate (HR) of blue mussels from the sublittoral zone exposed to different levels of oil products was investigated in a long-term experiment using non-invasive monitoring. A sharp rise in HR was observed at oil concentrations of 8.0 and 38.0 mg/l. A decreasing in mussel HR under the effect of lower concentrations (0.4 and 1.9 mg/l) was significant on the fourth day. Strong fluctuations of the cardiac activity were noted under all concentrations. After 6 days of oil treatment, tissues of the mussels were sampled to determine the total lipid composition. Low concentrations of oil products produced no reliable changes in the lipid composition whereas high concentrations induced significant changes in the ratio of lipid components (cholesterol and phospholipids).

A portable infrared photoplethysmograph: heartbeat ofMytilus galloprovincialisanalyzed by MRI and application toBathymodiolus septemdierum

“…We observed a slow decay, which might have been caused by transient response of the circuit and the phototransistor of CNY70. It is also true that the waveform obtained from living Mytilus was similar to that reported by Mytilus edulis (Bakhmet et al, 2009), even though the polarity is inversed. For the MRI study, a non-magnetic fiber optic probe was used for photoplethysmography (POXS-D; fiber bundle diameter: 3 mm; wavelength 940 nm, SA Instruments Inc., New York, USA).…”

Lipid Composition Modifications in the Blue Mussels (Mytilus edulis L.) from the White Sea

“…These modiications of the lipid proile relect the destructive efect of cadmium on cell membranes realized through the activation of lipid peroxidation processes. It is worth noting that a signiicant decrease of the cholesterol concentration under the impact of oil products, mainly their high concentrations, was observed in all the studied organs (gills, mantle, mantle edge and foot) of M. edulis [25,34], as well as under the impact of cobalt on Mytilus galloprovincialis [94]. One of the presumed examples of the toxic efect of oil products, as well as some heavy metals on bivalves, is the inhibition of cholesterol synthesis, leading to high membrane permeability.…”

“…Exposure of blue mussels from the White Sea to various concentrations of oil products in an aquarium experiment led to an increase in the level of phospholipids and a reduction of cholesterol concentration in gills and mantle, i.e. the gateway organs for external impacts [25,34]. These modiications in membrane lipids are believed to make cell membranes more permeable to oil products and create the conditions for their accumulation in these organs for further detoxiication.…”

“…In the White Sea, M. edulis L. is the dominant species of coastal (intertidal) ecosystems. Numerous studies on White Sea mussels' response to various environmental efects have identiied adaptive mechanisms on molecular, biochemical, cellular, physiological and behavioural levels of biological organization [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38].…”

Application of surface analytical methods for hazardous situation in the Adriatic Sea: monitoring of organic matter dynamics and oil pollution

“…The consequences of anthropogenically caused oil spills are known to provoke serious ecosystem disturbances influencing the variability in planktonic dynamics, survival of fish eggs, larvae, shellfish, hatching, swimming activity, fertility in copepods and overall tropic interactions. For example, dispersed diesel oil had a harmful effect on the cardiac activity of Mediterranean mussels (Bakhmet et al, 2009;Martinović et al, 2015) important for adequate protection of shellfish farms, breeding control and preventing food poisoning of humans. Bay of Kotor is a semi-closed basin of Montenegro characterized by Karst rivers and underground springs, which affect the temperature, density and salinity of seawater (Campanelli et al, 2009).…”