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Examining the relationship between metal exposure (Cd and Hg), subcellular accumulation, and physiology of juvenile Crassostrea virginica

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Abstract

To assess the toxicity and accumulation (total and subcellular partitioning) of cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg), juvenile eastern oysters, Crassostrea virginica, were exposed for 4 weeks to a range of concentrations (Control, Low (1×), and High (4×)). Despite the 4-fold increase in metal concentrations, oysters from the High-Cd treatment (2.4 μM Cd) attained a body burden that was only 2.4-fold greater than that of the Low-Cd treatment (0.6 μM Cd), while oysters from the High-Hg treatment (0.056 μM Hg) accumulated 8.9-fold more Hg than those from the Low-Hg treatment (0.014 μM Hg). This fold difference in total Cd burdens was, in general, mirrored at the subcellular level, though binding to heat-denatured proteins in the High-Cd treatment was depressed (only 1.6-fold higher than the Low-Cd treatment). Mercury did not appear to appreciably partition to the subcellular fractions examined in this study, with the fold difference in accumulation between the Low- and High-Hg treatments ranging from 1.5-fold (heat-stable proteins) to 4.6-fold (organelles). Differences in toxicological impairments (reductions in condition index, protein content, and ETS activity) exhibited by oysters from the High-Cd treatment may be partially due to the nature of how different metals partition to subcellular components in the oysters, though exact mechanisms will require further examination.

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Acknowledgments

We thank P. Pieluszynski, K. Lam, and C. Bruno for assistance with laboratory analysis. This manuscript benefitted greatly from edits by D. Seebaugh and two anonymous reviewers. This manuscript is submitted in memory of Dennis Suszkowski, Ph.D., (Science Director of the Hudson River Foundation), whose commitment and dedication to protecting and restoring the Hudson River Estuary will surely resonate for years to come.

Funding

This research was funded by grants from the Hudson River Foundation (AMF; #GF/02/01), PSC-CUNY (WGW, #64524-0042; and CBZ, #62925-0040), The Sounds Conservancy (AMF), and the National Science Foundation (CBZ; #DEB-0918952 and #MRI-0959876). CBZ was also supported by a Eugene Lang Junior Faculty Fellowship.

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  1. The Graduate Center, City University of New York, 365 Fifth Ave., New York, NY, 10016, USA

    Allison Mass Fitzgerald, Chester B. Zarnoch & William G. Wallace

  2. Biology Department, New Jersey City University, 2039 Kennedy Blvd., Jersey City, NJ, 07305, USA

    Allison Mass Fitzgerald

  3. Department of Natural Science, Baruch College, 17 Lexington Ave, New York, NY, 10010, USA

    Chester B. Zarnoch

  4. Biology Department, The College of Staten Island, 2800 Victory Blvd, Staten Island, NY, 10314, USA

    William G. Wallace

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Mass Fitzgerald, A., Zarnoch, C.B. & Wallace, W.G. Examining the relationship between metal exposure (Cd and Hg), subcellular accumulation, and physiology of juvenile Crassostrea virginica. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 25958–25968 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05860-1

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