Effect of Cu²⁺ high concentrations on protein oxidation (carbonyl proteins) in digestive gland of some representatives of Lirrorina genus (Mollusca, Gastropoda)

Abstract

One of the anthropogenic impacts on the marine environment is the entry into the coastal waters of heavy metals easily accumulating in the tissues of marine hydrobionts. The heavy metals accumulation leads to disruptions in the normal course of biochemical processes, which often result in the death of the total organism. The metals toxicity to the organism can be enhanced due to a number of physical factors, such as oxygen availability, salinity, and temperature fluctuations. The aim of the work is to compare the effect of copper ions high concentrations on representatives of marine invertebrates differing in ecological and physiological characteristics (Littorina mandshurica (Schrenk, 1861) and Littorina squalida Broderip & G. B. Sowerby I, 1829) using oxidative stress biomarker – carbonyl proteins. Molluscs were taken from Alekseev Bay of the Peter the Great Bay (Sea of Japan, Russia) and incubated at different concentrations of Cu2+ (10, 40 and 100 μg per l) in the seawater. Analysis of the content of proteins oxidized forms in the digestive gland of the studied species was carried out after 5 and 10 days of the experiment. In the course of the experiment, the species sensitivity to different concentrations of Cu2+ and to the time of toxicant exposure was revealed. The dependence of the obtained results (an increase of the protein carbonyls concentration in the digestive gland of L. mandshurica and the death of individuals of L. squalida) on ecological and physiological features of the studied species is shown.