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Hyperaccumulation of vanadium in the Antarctic polychaete Perkinsiana littoralis as a natural chemical defense against predation

  • Area 9 • Impact of Chemicals on Animal Health • Research Article
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Abstract

Background, aim, and scope

Exceptionally high levels of trace metals have been reported in specific tissues of certain polychaetes. In the present study, the Antarctic fan worm Perkinsiana littoralis was shown to hyperaccumulate vanadium in the branchial tissues, and the hypothesis of an antipredatory strategy has been investigated

Materials and methods

Trace metals (Ag, Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, V, Zn) were measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry in tissues of P. littoralis and, only for V, in two Antarctic bivalves and in various Mediterranean polychaetes. Subcellular distribution of vanadium was investigated in P. littoralis after differential centrifugations; feeding trials with the Antarctic rock cod Trematomus berancchii were performed to test the palatability of P. littoralis

Results and discussion

Analyses of trace metals in tissues of P. littoralis confirmed the naturally high bioavailability of cadmium due to upwelling phenomena in the investigated area and revealed extremely high concentrations of vanadium up to 10,000 µg/g, in the branchial crowns; much lower concentrations were measured in the body portions and even less in the Antarctic bivalves and in Mediterranean polychaetes. The subcellular distribution indicated that this metal was associated in branchial crowns with both heavy components and vanadium binding proteins; the latter predominated in body tissues, although with a different pattern of molecular weight. Feeding trials suggested that the elevated levels of vanadium in branchial crown of P. littoralis act as chemical deterrents against predation in more exposed tissues

Recommendations and perspectives

The hyperaccumulation of toxic metals might represent a common antipredatory strategy for unpalatable branchial crowns of sabellid polychaetes, as recently hypothesized also for the high concentrations of arsenic in the Mediterranean Sabella spallanzanii. The evolution of such adaptation and the reasons behind the possibility for different species to accumulate different metals represent a stimulating field of investigation for future studies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Biochimica, Biologia e Genetica, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Ranieri (Montedago) 65, 60131, Ancona, Italy

    Daniele Fattorini, Alessandra Notti & Francesco Regoli

  2. Dipartimento di Morfologia Umana e Biologia Applicata, Università di Pisa, Pisa, Italy

    Marco Nigro

Authors
  1. Daniele Fattorini
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  2. Alessandra Notti
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  3. Marco Nigro
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  4. Francesco Regoli
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Correspondence to Francesco Regoli.

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Responsible editor: Alvin Lee Young

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Fattorini, D., Notti, A., Nigro, M. et al. Hyperaccumulation of vanadium in the Antarctic polychaete Perkinsiana littoralis as a natural chemical defense against predation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 17, 220–228 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-009-0243-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-009-0243-0

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