Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 37, 223 62, Lund, Sweden.
School of Bioscience, University of Skövde, Högskolevägen 3, 541 28, Skövde, Sweden.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2020 Mar;27(9):9999-10010. doi: 10.1007/s11356-020-07660-4. Epub 2020 Jan 13.
Molecular biomarkers, like gene transcripts or enzyme activities, are potentially powerful tools for early warning assessment of pollution. However, a thorough understanding of response and baseline variation is required to distinguish actual effects from pollution. Here, we assess the freshwater mussel Anodonta anatina as a biomarker model species for freshwater ecosystems, by testing responses of six transcriptional (cat, gst, hsp70, hsp90, mt, and sod) and two biochemical (AChE and GST) biomarkers to environmentally relevant Cu water concentrations. Mussels (n = 20), collected from a stream free from point source pollution, were exposed in the laboratory, for 96 h, to Cu treatments (< 0.2 μg/L, 0.77 ± 0.87 μg/L, and 6.3 ± 5.4 μg/L). Gills and digestive glands were extracted and analyzed for transcriptional and biochemical responses. Biological and statistical effect sizes from Cu treatments were in general small (mean log fold-change ≤ 0.80 and Cohen's f ≤ 0.69, respectively), and no significant treatment effects were observed. In contrast, four out of eight biomarkers (cat, gst, hsp70, and GST) showed a significant sex:tissue interaction, and additionally one (sod) showed significant overall effects from sex. Specifically, three markers in gills (cat, mt, GST) and one in digestive gland (AChE) displayed significant sex differences, independent of treatment. Results suggest that sex or tissue effects might obscure low-magnitude biomarker responses and potential early warnings. Thus, variation in biomarker baselines and response patterns needs to be further addressed for the future use of A. anatina as a biomarker model species.
分子生物标志物，如基因转录本或酶活性，是用于污染预警评估的潜在有力工具。然而，为了区分实际效应与污染效应，需要对响应和基线变化有透彻的了解。在这里，我们通过测试六种转录（CAT、GST、HSP70、HSP90、MT 和 SOD）和两种生化（AChE 和 GST）生物标志物对环境相关铜水浓度的反应，评估淡水贻贝 Anodonta anatina 作为淡水生态系统生物标志物模型物种。从没有点源污染的溪流中收集贻贝（n = 20），在实验室中用铜处理（<0.2μg/L、0.77 ± 0.87μg/L 和 6.3 ± 5.4μg/L）进行 96 h 暴露。提取和分析贻贝的鳃和消化腺，以检测转录和生化反应。铜处理的生物和统计效应大小通常较小（平均对数倍变化≤0.80，Cohen's f≤0.69），未观察到显著的处理效应。相比之下，八种生物标志物中有四种（CAT、GST、HSP70 和 GST）表现出显著的性别：组织互作，另外一种（SOD）表现出显著的性别总效应。具体来说，鳃中三种标志物（CAT、MT、GST）和消化腺中一种标志物（AChE）显示出与处理无关的显著性别差异。结果表明，性别或组织效应可能会掩盖低幅度生物标志物反应和潜在的早期预警。因此，需要进一步解决生物标志物基线和反应模式的变异性，以便未来将 A. anatina 用作生物标志物模型物种。
