Abstract
The digestive gland of adult land snails, Helix aspersa, sampled from four different sites in São Miguel island (Azores) was submitted to chemical analyses, autometallography and haemalum/eosin staining, in order to quantify the relative abundance of heavy metals, calcium cells and connective tissue cells. Metals were visualized, through light microscopy, as black silver deposits mostly in the connective tissue cells. Metal levels, essentially of Cu and Fe, were related to the relative volumetric density of connective tissue cells but not to the relative volumetric density of calcium cells from the digestive gland epithelium. Thus, the connective tissue index presented herein is suggested as a biomarker of Cu exposure in terrestrial mollusks.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Chabicovsky M, Niederstätter H, Thaler R, Hödl E, Parson W, Ross-manith V, Dallinger R. 2003. Localization and quantification of Cd-and Cu-specific metallothionein isoform mRNA in cells and organs of the terrestrial gastropod Helix pomatia. Toxicol Appl Pharm 190, 25–36.
Dimitriadis VK. 2001 Structure and function of the digestive sys-tem in Stylommatophora. In: Barker GM, ed. The Biology of Terrestrial Molluscs. Wallingford: CABI Publishing: 237–257.
Fournié J, Chétail M. 1982 Accumulation calcique au niveau cel-lulaire chez les mollusques. Proceedings Seventh International Malacological Congress, Coloque Calcium et Structures Sque-lettiques.Malacologia 22, 265–284.
Haszprunar G. 1996 The molluscan rhogocyte (pore-cell, blasen-zelle, cellule nucale), and its significance for ideas on nephridial evolution. J MollStu d62, 185–211.
Hopwood D. 1996 Fixation and fixatives. In: Bancroft JD, Stevens A, eds. Theory and Practice of Histological Techniques,4thed. Hong Kong: Churchill Livingstone: 23–46.
Ireland MP, Marigómez I. 1992 The influence of dietary calcium on the tissue distribution of Cu, Zn, Mg & P and histological changes in the digestive gland cells of the snail Achatina fulica Bowdich. J MollStu d58, 157–168.
Luchtel DL, Deyrup-Olsen I. 2001 Body wall: form and func-tion. In: Barker GM, ed. The Biology of Terrestrial Molluscs. Wallingford: CABI Publishing: 147–178.
Marigómez I, Soto M, Kortabitarte M. 1996 Tissue-level biomarkers and biological effect of mercury on sentinel slugs, Arion ater. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 31, 54–62.
Marigómez I, Kortabitarte M, Dussart GBJ. 1998 Tissue-level bio-markers in sentinel slugs as cost-effective tools to assess metal pollution in soils. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 34, 167–176.
Martoja R, Martoja-Pierson M. 1970 Técnicas de Histología An-imal. Barcelona: Toray Masson S.A.
Nunes JC, Carvalho MR, Forjaz VH. 1993 Short note on São Miguel Island (Azores) tiltmeters. Açoreana 7(4), 633–641.
Owen G. 1966 Digestion. In: Wilbur KM, Yonge CM, eds. Physiology of Mollusca, Vol 2, New York: Academic Press: 53–96.
Simkiss K, Taylor MG. 1994 Calcium magnesium phosphate gran-ules: atomistic simulations explaining cell death. J ExpBio l190, 131–139.
Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ. 1995 Biometry.3rded.NewYork: WH Freeman and Company.
Soto M, Cajaraville MP, Angulo E, Marigómez I. 1996 Autometal-lographic localization of protein-bound copper and zinc in the common winkle, Littorina littorea: a light microscopical study. Histochem J 28, 689–701.
Soto M, Quincoces I, Marigómez I. 1998 Autometallographical pro-cedure for the localization of metal traces in molluscan tissues by light microscopy. J Histotechnol 21(2), 123–127.
Soto M, Lekube X, Marigómez I. 1999 Autometallographical local-isation of Cu and Zn within target cell compartments of winkles following exposure to Cu & Zn mixtures. Eur J Histochem 43, 323–334.
Weibel ER. 1979 Stereological methods.London: Academic Press Inc.
Zaldibar B, Rodrigues A, Lopes M, Marigómez I, Soto M. 1998 Tissue-level biomarkers in freshwater molluscs to assess natural metal pollutants due to volcanicity. Cuadernos de Investigación Biológica 20, 313–316.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Santos Amaral, A.F., Anselmo, H., Pires Toste Tristão da Cunha, R.M. et al. The connective tissue index of Helix aspersa as a metal biomarker. Biometals 17, 625–629 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10534-004-1227-7
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10534-004-1227-7