Differential toxicological effects induced by merc

Authors: Xiaoli Liu Linbao Zhang Liping You Junbao Yu Jianmin Zhao Lianzhen Li Qing Wang Fei Li Chenghua Li Dongyan Liu Huifeng Wu

Publish Date: 2010/11/17

Volume: 20, Issue: 1, Pages: 177-186

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Abstract

Mercury is a hazardous pollutant in the Bohai marine environments due to its high toxicity to the marine organisms and subsequent ecological risk Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum is one of important sentinel organisms in ‘Mussel Watch Program’ launched in China and therefore used as a bioindicator in marine and coastal ecotoxicology There are dominantly distributed three pedigrees of clam White Liangdao Red and Zebra in Yantai population endowed with different tolerances to environmental stressors In this study gill tissues were collected from both untreated and mercury exposed White Liangdao Red and Zebra clams and the extracts were analyzed by NMRbased metabolomics to compare the original metabolomes and the toxicological effects induced by mercury exposure in three pedigrees The major abundant metabolites in White clam sample were branchedchain amino acids lactate alanine arginine acetoacetate glutamate succinate citrate malonate and taurine while the metabolite profile of Liangdao Red clam sample comprises relative high levels of alanine arginine glutamate succinate and glycogen For Zebra clam sample the metabolite profile exhibited relatively high amount of aspartate acetylcholine and homarine After 48 h exposure of 20 μg l−1 Hg2+ the metabolic profiles from all the three pedigrees of clams commonly showed significant increases in alanine arginine glutamate aspartate αketoglutarate glycine and ATP/ADP and decreases in citrate taurine and homarine The unique metabolic differences between the metabolomes of gill tissues from Hg2+exposed White Liangdao Red and Zebra clams were found including elevated acetylcholine and branchedchain amino acids in White clams and the declined succinate in both White and Liangdao Red samples as well as the declined betaine in Zebra and White clams Overall our findings showed the differential toxicological responses to mercury exposure and that White clams could be a preferable bioindicator for the metal pollution monitoring based on the metabolic changes from gill compared with other two Liangdao Red and Zebra pedigrees of clamsWe thank Dr Mark Viant School of Bioscience The University of Birmingham for use of the software ProMetab This research was supported by The 100 Talents Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences SDSFC ZR2009CZ008 and in part by CAS innovation key project KZCX2YWQ0704 and the CAS/SAFEA International Partnership Program for Creative Research Teams “Representative environmental processes and resources effects in coastal zone”

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