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Selectivity of metal bioaccumulation and its relationship with glutathione S-transferase levels in gonadal and gill tissues of Mytilus galloprovincialis exposed to Ni (II), Cu (II) and Cd (II)

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Abstract

In order to identify a metal bioaccumulation marker usable in monitoring programs, we analyzed the metal content in Mytilus galloprovincialis gill and gonadal tissues and its relationship with π-gst expression levels after a laboratory exposure for 24 h to individual chlorides of Ni, Cu, 5, 15, 35 µM and Cd 1,5; 5, 10 µM in artificial sea water. Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry showed that metal content increased in both tissues in an exposure dose-dependent fashion except for Ni in gonadal tissues, where a low value at the highest exposure was observed. Metal bioaccumulation was higher in gill than gonadal tissues as was π-gst expression level, measured by RT-qPCR, except for the highest Cu exposure. In the gonadal tissue, Ni induced the highest π-gst increase resulting in 2.5- and 4-fold at 5 and 35 μM, respectively, while only about twofold for some Cu and Cd dose exposure. In gill tissue, instead Cd produced π-gst dose-dependent increase being 2.3- and 9.6-fold at 5 and 10 μM, respectively. Ni and Cu meanwhile produced 12- and 5-fold expression levels only at the highest concentration used. Mytilus galloprovincialis shows also a selectivity to accumulate the investigated metals, since metal concentration reduction in ASW, after exposure, was 96–97 %; 85.1–90 % and 4.5–10 % for Cd, Cu and Ni, respectively. Finally, π-gst expression levels correlated particularly with the amount of bioaccumulated Cd in gill tissue, indicating π-gst as a potential marker, even if not univocally, of significative cadmium bioaccumulation usable in environmental monitoring programs.

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Acknowledgments

We want thank the Cooperative Institute for Regional Development and Implementation of mussels (IRSVEM) Bacoli, in Naples for kindly providing the mussels used for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Biologia, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Complesso Universitario Monte S. Angelo, 80126, Naples, Italy

    Marina Piscopo & Marica Ricciardiello

  2. Dipartimento di Economia, Management, Istituzioni, Laboratorio Chimico-Merceologico, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Complesso Universitario Monte S.Angelo, 80126, Naples, Italy

    Giancarlo Palumbo

  3. Theoreo srl–spin-off dell’Università degli Studi di Salerno, 84090, Salerno, Italy

    Jacopo Troisi

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  1. Marina Piscopo
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Correspondence to Marina Piscopo.

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The research described herein was performed on the marine invertebrate M. galloprovincialis (Lamarck 1819), which is not protected by any environmental agency in Italy. This study was conducted in strict accordance with European (Directive 2010/63) and Italian (Decreto Legislativo n. 116/1992) legislation on the care and use of animals for scientific purposes.

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Piscopo, M., Ricciardiello, M., Palumbo, G. et al. Selectivity of metal bioaccumulation and its relationship with glutathione S-transferase levels in gonadal and gill tissues of Mytilus galloprovincialis exposed to Ni (II), Cu (II) and Cd (II). Rend. Fis. Acc. Lincei 27, 737–748 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-016-0564-0

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