Comparative study of the xenobiotic metabolising system in the digestive gland of the bivalve molluscs in different aquatic ecosystems and in aquaria experiments

A comparative study has been performed on populations of Unionidae from the Lake Suszek and Brda river situated in the centre of Tucholski Landscape Park, around which there are no factories and the Pilica river-affected by the influence of the nearby town agglomeration. Mussels collected from Suszek were also treated (72 h) with various concentrations of dichlorophenol (DCP; 0.1, 0.15, 0.2 ppm) and paraquat (PQ; 1, 5, 10 ppm) in laboratory conditions (aquarium). The activities of glutathione S-transferase (GST) and cytochrome P450 monooxygenase system (NAD(P)H ferricyanide reductase, NAD(P)H cytochrome c reductase), cytochrome P450 content and b(5) in microsomal and cytosolic fractions of digestive gland were investigated. The differences in enzyme activities between groups of mussels, which were exposed to various concentrations of chemical pollutants, as well as the dependence on geographical distribution in Poland, were observed. In experiments with DCP the dose-dependent increase in GST activity was found, but no changes after PQ treatment were observed. Results, in experiments with DCP and PQ, have varied from no change to increase or decrease in the measured monooxygenase activities and cytochrome P450 content. Increases have been recorded in two cases (NADPH ferricyanide reductase and cytochrome P450) after exposure to DCP and in the case of NADH ferricyanide reductase following the exposure to PQ. NAD(P)H cytochrome c reductase activity and content of P450 decreased considerably in 5 and 10 ppm PQ-treated mussels. Thus, the treatment with DCP and PQ in water changed the properties of the mussels digestive gland cytochrome P450 monooxygenase system. These changes may be used as a bioindicator, at the molecular level, of exposure to those xenobiotics not only in controlled experiments (aquaria) but also in the natural environment. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.