Acute toxicity of cypermethrin on the freshwater mussel Unio gibbus.

Cypermethrin is a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide used worldwide in agriculture, home pest control, food stuff protection and disease vector control. We investigate the potential of cypermethrin to induce oxidative stress and enzyme activities within the gills of freshwater mussel Unio gibbus. This study was carried out under laboratory conditions using two nominal cypermethrin concentrations C1 (100µg/L) and C2 (150µg/L) during 96h. The measured concentrations of cypermethrin using GC-MS-MS in the treatment aquariums were respectively 59.7 µg/L and 97.5µg/L. Antioxidant enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT)) as well as H2O2, malondialdehyde (MDA) and protein carbonyl (PCO) levels were assessed. An exposure during 96h induced the SOD activity at the highest concentration. The CAT activity and H2O2 level were increased significantly (P<0.05) in gills following a dose-dependent profile. Cypermethrin also generated an increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) levels reaching the highest value at the high concentration. The considered parameters can be used as biomarkers of exposure to cypermethrin. Freshwater mussel U. gibbus can be potentially employed in biomonitoring surveys of such threatened ecosystems.

Isolation, purification, and biochemical characterization of two forms of lysosomal ß-N-acetylhexosaminidase from the invertebrate Unio.

Lysosomal hexosaminidases are glycosyl hydrolases that remove the terminal hexosamine residues of glycoconjugates. Though mammalian hexosaminidases are well characterized, the biochemical nature of these enzymes among invertebrates remains elusive. In this study, we purified two thermostable N-acetyl ß-D-hexosaminidases (hex A and B) to homogeneity from soluble extracts of whole Unio animal tissue by a combination of chromatographic procedures. Purified hex A and hex B migrated as a single protein species on native PAGE and exhibited enzyme activity. However on SDS-PAGE, hex A dissociated into two subunits of molecular masses about 75 kDa and 30 kDa respectively, while hex B showed a molecular mass of 40 kDa. Hex A and B were recognized by the affinity purified mannose 6-phosphate receptor 46 on ligand blot analysis. This specific interaction was similar to what is known for the vertebrate receptors and lysosomal enzymes. The enzymes showed different K(M) values with respect to the substrates p-nitrophenyl N-acetyl-ß-D-glucosaminide and p-nitrophenyl N-acetyl-ß-D-galactosaminide. The enzymes were thermally stable up to 80 °C and showed pH optima between 5.0 and 6.0. This is the first report on the purification of two forms of hexosaminidases from Unio.

Proteomic analysis of the acid-soluble nacre matrix of the bivalve Unio pictorum: detection of novel carbonic anhydrase and putative protease inhibitor proteins.

The matrix extracted from mollusc shell nacre is a mixture of proteins and glycoproteins that is thought to play a major role in controlling biomineral synthesis and in increasing its mechanical properties. We investigated the nacreous shell of the freshwater mussel Unio pictorum, to which we applied a proteomics approach adapted to mollusc shell proteins. On one hand, the acid-soluble nacre matrix was fractionated by SDS-PAGE and the five main protein bands (P95, P50, P29, P16, and P12) were digested with trypsin and analyzed by nanoLC-MS/MS followed by de novo sequencing. On the other hand, the acid-soluble nacre matrix was analyzed in a similar manner, without any preliminary fractionation. In total, we obtained about 140 peptides, of between 9 and 21 residues, as well as several shorter peptides. Interestingly, it appears that the different protein bands share several identical peptides; this has implications for the underlying genetic machinery that synthesizes nacre proteins. Homology searches against sequences in the Swiss-Prot protein database and the 800,000 mollusc expressed sequence tag database were performed, but surprisingly, only a few obvious homologies were established. Among the peptides that match with known sequences, some from P50 and P16/P12 proteins align with carbonic anhydrase (CA) and with the protease inhibitor, respectively. The evolutionary implications of our findings are discussed.

Antioxidant, genotoxic and lysosomal biomarkers in the freshwater bivalve (Unio pictorum) transplanted in a metal polluted river basin.

The freshwater painter's mussel (Unio pictorum) was used as sentinel species to assess the chemical disturbance in an Italian river (the river Cecina) characterized by elevated levels of trace metals of both natural and anthropogenic origin. Organisms were transplanted for 4 weeks in different locations of the river basin and the bioaccumulation of metals was integrated with a wide battery of biomarkers consisting of oxidative, genotoxic and lysosomal responses. Such parameters included the levels of individual antioxidants (catalase, glutathione-S-transferases, glutathione reductase, Se-dependent and Se-independent glutathione peroxidases, total glutathione), the total oxyradical scavenging capacity (TOSC), metallothionein-like proteins, the assessment of DNA integrity, chromosomal damages and lysosomal membrane stability. Elevated levels of several metals were measured in sediments, but the relatively low tissue concentrations suggested a moderate bioaccumulation, possibly due to a high excretion efficiency, of U. pictorum and/or to a limited bioavailability of these elements, partly deriving from erosion of bedrocks. Among antioxidant responses, those based on glutathione metabolism and the activity of catalase were mostly affected in bivalves showing a significant accumulation of arsenic, mercury and/or nickel. In these specimens, the content of glutathione and the activities of glutathione reductase and glutathione peroxidases (H2O2) were respectively 9-, 6- and 4-fold lower than in controls, while a 3-fold increase was observed for catalase. Despite some differences in the response of individual antioxidants, a significant reduction of the capability to neutralize peroxyl radicals was observed in bivalves caged in all the impacted sites of the river basin; these organisms also exhibited a significant impairment at the DNA, chromosomal and lysosomal levels. Considering the mild contamination gradient in the investigated area, the overall results suggested that some oxidative biomarkers, as well as those evaluating chromosomal and cell damages, are highly sensitive and could be profitably applied to caged painter's mussels for environmental quality assessment in freshwater.

Glutamate cysteine ligase (GCL) in the freshwater bivalve Unio tumidus: impact of storage conditions and seasons on activity and identification of partial coding sequence of the catalytic subunit.

Glutamate cysteine ligase (GCL; EC 6.3.2.2) is the first enzyme involved in the synthesis of glutathione. A HPLC method with fluorimetric detection was used to measure GCL activity in the gills and the digestive gland of the freshwater bivalve, Unio tumidus. Storage conditions were optimized in order to prevent decrease of GCL activity and consisted in freezing the cytosolic fraction in the presence of protease (1 mM phenylmethylsulfonic fluoric acid) and gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (1 mM L-serine borate mixture and 0.5 mM acivicin) inhibitors. Seasonal variations of activity in the digestive gland and to a lesser extent in the gills were found with activity increasing in spring compared to winter. No sex differences were revealed. The GCL coding sequence was identified using degenerated primers designed in the highly conserved regions of the catalytic subunit of GCL. The partial sequence identified encoded for 121 amino acids. The comparison of the identified partial coding sequence of U. tumidus with those available from vertebrates and invertebrates indicated that GCL sequence was highly conserved.