Abstract
Absorption of 14C-glycine from ambient sea water across the body surface of the oligochaete Enchytraeus albidus Henle was, after 6 h preincubation, significantly reduced in the presence of 0.1 to 0.15 ppm mercury, 0.25 ppm copper, 1.5 ppm silver, and 2 ppm cadmium. Addition of heavy metal salts reduced maximum uptake rates (V max ), without affecting transport constants (K t ). Influx of 14C-glycine remained unchanged in the presence of up to 10 ppm aluminium, chromium, iron, lead, molybdenum, vanadium, and zinc. Effects of up to 150 ppm nickel, manganese, cobalt and selenium were negligible. Inhibition of glycine absorption by mercury and cadmium in the polychaete Nereis diversicolor Müller is almost identical with results presented for E. albidus. Transintegumentary solute absorption in soft-bodied marine invertebrates obviously represents a suitable biological function for studies on heavy metal toxicity. The close relationship between rates of heavy metal absorption, inhibition of transintegumentary glycine uptake, and acute toxicity is discussed.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Bryan, G.W.: Some aspects of heavy metal toxicity in aquatic organisms. In: Effects of pollutants on aquatic organisms, pp 7–34 Ed. by A.P.M. Lockwood. London: Cambridge University Press 1976
Calabrese, A., F.P. Thurberg and E. Gould: Effects of cadmium, mercury and silver on marine animals. Mar. Fish. Rev. 1244, 5–11 (1977)
Chester, R. and J.H. Stoner: The distribution of zinc, nickel, manganese, cadmium, copper, and iron in some surface waters from the world ocean. Mar. Chem. 2, 17–32 (1974)
Davies, J.M. and J. M. Pirie: The mussel Mytilus edulis as a bio-assay organism for mercury in seawater. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 9, 128–132 (1978)
Jørgensen, C.B.: August Pütter, August Krogh, and modern ideas on the use of dissolved organic matter in aquatic environments. Biol. Rev. 51, 291–328 (1976)
Larsson, Å. B.-E. Bentsson and O. Svanberg: Some haematological and biochemical effects of cadmium in fish. In: Effects of pollutants on aquatic organisms, pp 35–45. Ed. by A.P.M. Lockwood. London: Cambridge University Press 1976
Luckey, T.D., B. Venugopal and D. Hutcheson: Heavy metal toxicity, safety and hormology. In: Environmental quality and safety, Vol. 1. 121 pp. Ed. by F. Coulston, N.Y. Albany and F. Korte. Stuttgart: Georg Thieme Publishers 1975
Siebers, D.: Absorption of neutral and basic amino acids across the body surface of two annelid species. Helgoländer wiss. Meeresunters. 28, 456–466 (1976)
— und H.-P. Bulnheim: Salzgehaltsabhängigkeit der Aufnahme gelöster Aminosäuren bei dem Oligochaeten Enchytraeus albidus. Verh. dt. zool. Ges., Stuttgart 1976, p. 212 (1976)
——: Salinity dependence, uptake kinetics, and specificity of amino-acid absorption across the body surface of the oligochaete Enchytraeus albidus. Helgoländer wiss. Meeresunters. 29, 473–492 (1977)
— and U. Ehlers: Transintegumentary absorption of acidic amino acids in the oligochaete Enchytraeus albidus. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. 61A, 55–60 (1978)
Stebbing, A.R.D.: The sublethal effects of metals on clonal hydroids. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 56, 977–994 (1976)
Stephens, G.C.: Amino acid accumulation and assimilation in marine organisms. In: Nitrogen metabolism and the environment, pp 155–184. Ed. by J.W. Campbell and L. Goldstein. London New York: Academic Press 1972
—: Uptake of naturally occurring primary amines by marine annelids. Biol. Bull. mar. biol. Lab., Woods Hole 149, 397–407 (1975)
Waldhauer, R., A. Matte and R.E. Tucker: Lead and copper in the waters of Raritan and Lower New York Bays. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 9(2), 38–42 (1978)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by O. Kinne, Hamburg
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Siebers, D., Ehlers, U. Heavy metal action on transintegumentary absorption of glycine in two annelid species. Marine Biology 50, 175–179 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00397824
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00397824