engleski

Evaluation of biochemical and histochemical biomarkers and a physiological index in tissues of mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis (L.), in pollution monitoring.

Biomarkers are biochemical, histological or physiological alteration or manifestation of environmental stress and they offer an early warning system in biomonitoring of aquatic environments before other disturbances as disease, mortality or population changes occur. Mussels, like Mytilus galloprovincialis Lam. are filter-feeding mollusks with a large capacity to accumulate various xenobiotics. They are therefore widely used in biomonitoring programs as proper sentinel to study the response to pollution. Acethylcholinesterase activity (AChE) a specific indicator of organophosphorous intoxication and aspartate aminotransferase activity (AAT) as a general indicator of stress were measured in extracts from gills homogenates by spectrophotometry. Neutral red and lipofuscin content in digestive gland tissue sections were determined by image analyzer, and the ability of survival on air was used to check the &laquo ; stress on stress&raquo ; response of mussels collected at various points along the Northern East Adriatic coast. The observed differences and the correlation among stations and biomarkers were statistically analyzed and the risk of anthropogenic pollution impact was evaluated.

Biomarkers; Mussels; Pollution

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