Cytochrome P450 system in the hepatopancreas of the red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii: a field study.

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenase system and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity were studied in the red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii sampled from the Ebro Delta before and after spraying of the area with fenitrothion. Analysis of hepatopancreas microsomes revealed an increase of 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity in organisms sampled after spraying. AChE activity was significantly inhibited in the same specimens, corroborating that these organisms were exposed to fenitrothion, and the usefulness of AChE as a marker of pesticide poisoning in P. clarkii. Crayfish from a reference site were analyzed and the results compared with those obtained in organisms from the Ebro Delta. The ability of P. clarkii to metabolize the organophosphorus pesticide fenitrothion was determined in vitro by using microsomal fractions isolated from hepatopancreas. The results pointed out the existence of an oxidative metabolism, which was inhibited by different P450 inhibitors (clotrimazole, alpha-naphthoflavone and N-benzylimidazole) and not affected by methimazole.