ABSTRACT
Copper is an essential trace element for organisms, but when in excess, copper's redox potential enhances oxyradical formation and increases cellular oxidative stress. Copper is a major pollutant in Jamaica Bay and other aquatic areas. Bivalves are filter feeders that accumulate heavy metals and other pollutants from their environment. Previously it was determined that seed from the bivalve Crassostrea virginica, transplanted from an oyster farm to Jamaica Bay readily accumulated copper and other pollutants into their tissues. In the present study we utilized Atomic Absorption Spectrometry to measure the uptake of copper into C. virginica gill in the presence and absence of three potential copper -blocking agents: diltiazem, lanthanum, and p-aminosalicyclic acid. Diltiazem and lanthanum are known calcium-channel blockers and p-aminosalicylic acid is an anti-infammarory agent with possible metal chelating properties. We also used the DMAB-Rhodanine histochemistry staining technique to confirm that copper was entering gill cells. Our result showed that diltiazem and p-aminosalicyclic acid reduced copper accumulations in the gill, while lanthanum did not. DMAB-Rhodanine histochemistry showed enhanced cellular copper staining in copper-treated samples and further demonstrated that diltiazem was able to reduce copper uptake. The accumulation of copper into oyster gill and its potential toxic effects could be of physiological significance to the growth and long term health of oysters and other marine animals living in a copper polluted environment. Identifying agents that block cellular copper uptake will further the understanding of metal transport mechanisms and may be beneficial in the therapeutic treatment of copper toxicity in humans.
ABSTRACT
Historically, Jamaica Bay was a site of extensive oyster beds and shellfish culture leases that supported a significant oyster fishery in the New York area. The industrial and urban expansion of the early 1900's led to over-harvesting and a deterioration in water and bay sediment quality that coincided with shellfish decline and the ultimate disappearance of oysters from the bay. Over the past 50 years, efforts to arrest and reverse the pollution problems of Jamaica Bay have been undertaken but the area still contains metals and other pollutants at levels higher than NYS Water Quality Standards. Previous we showed that Crassostrea virginica seed transplanted to the bay had excellent growth and survival despite the bay's pollution problems. In this study we measured the one-year bioaccumulation and tissue distribution of four metals in C. virginica seed that were transplanted to the bay at two different depths: one foot from the surface and one foot above the sediment. Tissues of C. virginica were dissected, dried and digested in nitric acid. Arsenic, cadmium, copper and zinc levels were measured using electrothermal vaporization with deuterium lamp background correction in an atomic absorption spectrophotometer fitted with a THGA graphite furnace. Metals were distributed in the various tissues in µg/g dry weight amounts, which correlate well with published values for whole oysters grown in other polluted areas. Metal distributions were not homogeneous throughout the animals and in most of the tissues tested, oysters grown near the surface accumulated more metal than those positioned near bay sediment.
