Using biomarkers to address the impacts of pollution on limpets (Patella depressa) and their mechanisms to cope with stress

Cátia S.E. Silva, Sara C. Novais, Tiago Simões, Márcia Caramalho, Carlos Gravato, Maria J. Rodrigues, Paulo Maranhão, Marco F.L. Lemos*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    Abstract

    Contaminant discharges, derived from human activities, are major concerns as they exert a continuous ecological pressure on aquatic systems, causing in fact cascading community effects. Although with associated ecological and fitness costs, physiological and biochemical defense mechanisms may restore the organism's internal balance. Several studies have pointed biomarkers as tools to assess contamination levels, and also to understand potential mechanisms to cope with stress. In the present study, the fitness costs of limpets Patella depressa located in two different contaminated sites and when transplanted into a different common environment – with no known historical contamination – were assessed through the measurement of oxidative stress, energy metabolism responses, and fatty acid profile changes. Integrated biomarker response index (IBR) revealed differences in responses between organisms of the different origin sites, with greater antioxidant and detoxification activities in the site with the higher contamination life-history (higher IBR index). Moreover, different abilities of this species to deal with the new environmental condition were also observed. After the transplant, and despite the differences in the initial profiles, response patterns became similar between both populations (similar IBR index), with organisms from the less contaminated site suffering a higher impact with a demarked increase in their detoxification and antioxidant defenses, as well as higher changes on fatty acid abundance/composition. Through an integrated biomarker profile analysis in a transplant context, this work provides a distinct insight on the mechanisms of response and tolerance to environmental stress, and fitness costs of this potential sentinel marine species in the context of environmental contamination changes.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1077-1086
    Number of pages10
    JournalEcological Indicators
    Volume95
    Issue numberPart 2
    Early online date6 Oct 2018
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Dec 2018

    Funding

    The authors wish to acknowledge the support of Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), through the strategic project UID/MAR/04292/2013 granted to MARE, the project PROTEOME (PTDC/AAG-MAA/1302/2014), co-financed by COMPETE (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016773), and the grants awarded to Cátia Silva (SFRH/BD/118195/2016), Sara Novais (SFRH/BPD/94500/2013), and Tiago Simões (SFRH/BD/98266/2013). The authors also wish to acknowledge the Integrated Programme of SR&TD “Smart Valorization of Endogenous Marine Biological Resources Under a Changing Climate” (reference Centro-01-0145-FEDER-000018), co-funded by Centro 2020 program, Portugal 2020, European Union, through the European Regional Development Fund. Appendix A

    FundersFunder number
    Centro 2020 program
    Ci?ncia e Tecnologia
    Sara NovaisSFRH/BPD/94500/2013
    Tiago Sim?esCentro-01-0145-FEDER-000018
    Tiago SimõesSFRH/BD/98266/2013
    European Commission
    Fundação para a Ciência e a TecnologiaPTDC/AAG-MAA/1302/2014, UID/MAR/04292/2013
    European Regional Development Fund
    Programa Operacional Temático Factores de CompetitividadeSFRH/BD/118195/2016, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016773

      Keywords

      • Biochemical markers
      • Fatty acid profile
      • Fitness costs
      • Gastropods
      • Integrated biomarker response
      • Transplant experiment

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