Abstract
This study is aimed at analyzing the total mercury in the tissues of mammals adapted to a semiaquatic or subterranean lifestyle and at analyzing the possible role of their antioxidant system in heavy metal detoxication. The water shrew Neomis fodiens Pennant, 1771, European mole Talpa europaea Linnaeus, 1758, muskrat Ondatra zibethicus Linnaeus, 1766, and water vole Arvicola terrestris Linnaeus, 1758 were the species under study. Our results indicate that mercury accumulation in the tissue depends on the age, tissue type, and diet of the species. The highest mercury content was recorded in water shrew tissues compared to other species. Age-dependent accumulation of the toxicant in the animals is reported. A correlation between mercury accumulation and catalase activity in the kidneys of the animals studied was found.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Avagyan, A.A., Ecology and distribution of water shrew Neomys fodiens in Armenia, Biol. Zh. Arm., 2009, no. 2 (61), pp. 49–52.
Bears, R.F. and Sizer, I.N., A spectral method for measuring the breakdown of hydrogen peroxide by catalase, J. Biol. Chem., 1952, vol. 195, no. 1, pp. 133–140.
Brookens, T.J., O’Hara, T.M., Taylor, R.J., Bratton, G.R., and Harvey, J.T., Total mercury body burden in Pacific harbor seal, Phoca vitulina richardii, pups from central California, Mar. Pollut. Bull., 2008, vol. 56, pp. 27–41.
Butler, P.J. and Jones, D.R., Physiology of diving of birds and mammals, Physiol. Rev., 1997, vol. 77, no. 3, pp. 837–899.
Cristol, D., Brasso, R.L., Condon, A.M., Fovargue, R.E., Friedman, S.L., Hallinger, K.K., Monroe, A.P., and White, A.E., The movement of aquatic mercury through terrestrial food webs, Science, 2008, vol. 320, p. 335.
Eticheskaya ekspertiza biomeditsinskikh issledovanii. Prakticheskie rekomendatsii (Ethical Expertise of Biomedical Research. Practical Recommendations), Belousov, Yu.B., Eds., Moscow: Ros. Obshch. Klin. Issled., 2005.
Filho, W.D., Sell, F., Ribeiro, L., Ghislandi, M., Carrasquedo, F., Fraga, C.G., Wallauer, J.P., Simões-Lopes, P.C., and Uhart, M.M., Comparison between the antioxidant status of terrestrial and diving mammals, Comp. Biochem. Physiol., 2002, vol. 133, no. 3, pp. 885–892.
Gabaidullin, A.G., Il’ina, E.M., Ryzhov, V.V., and Khalitova, R.Ya., Okhrana okruzhayushchei sredy ot rtutnogo zagryazneniya (Environmental Protection from Mercury Pollution), Kazan: Izd. Magarif, 1999.
Galantsev, V.P., Evolyutsiya adaptatsii nyryayushchikh zhivotnykh. Ekologo-i morfofiziologicheskie aspekty (Evolution of Adaptations of Diving Animals: Ecological and Morphophysiological Aspects), Leningrad: Nauka, Leningr. Otd., 1977.
Hsu, M.J., Selvaraj, K., and Agoramoorthy, G., Taiwan’s industrial heavy metal pollution threatens terrestrial biota, Environ. Pollut., 2006, vol. 143, no. 2, pp. 327–334.
Ivanova, E.S., Patterns of accumulation and distribution of mercury in the components of terrestrial ecosystems of the Vologda oblast, Extended Abstract of Cand. Sci. (Biol.) Dissertation, Borok, 2013.
Kharadov, A.V. and Kustareva, L.A., Animal feeds in nutrition of muskrat Ondatra zibethicus L., Byul. MOIP. Otd. Biol., 2012, vol. 117, no. 6, pp. 3–10.
Khizhkin, E.A., Ilyukha, V.A., Komov, V.T., Parkalov, I.V., Il’ina, T.N., Baishnikova, I.V., Sergina, S.N., Gremyachikh, V.A., Kamshilova, T.B., and Stepina, E.S., Speciesspecific features of mercury content in organs of carnivorous mammals of different ecogenesis, Tr. Karel. Nauch. Tsentra RAN, 2012, no. 2, pp. 147–153.
Komov, V.T., Gremyachikh, V.A., Sapel’nikov, S.F., and Udodenko, Yu.G., The content of mercury in soils and small mammals of different biotopes of the Voronezh Reserve, in Rtut’ v biosfere: ekologo-geokhimicheskie aspekty: materialy mezhdunar. simp. (Mercury in the Biosphere: Ecological-Geochemical Aspects, Proc. Int. Symp.), Moscow: Inst. Geokhim. Analit. Khim. im. V.I. Vernadskogo RAN, 2010, pp. 281–286.
Krynski, A., Kaluzinski, J., Wlazeiko, M., and Adamowski, A., Contamination of roe deer by mercury compounds, Acta Theriol., 1982, vol. 27, pp. 499–507.
Laperdina, T.G., Opredelenie rtuti v prirodnykh vodakh (Determination of Mercury in Natural Waters), Novosibirsk: Nauka, Sib. Otd., 2000.
Lund, B.O. and Miller, D.M., Studies in Hg-induced H2O2 production and lipid peroxidation in vitro in rat kidney mitochondria, Biochem. Pharmacol., 1993, vol. 45, no. 10, pp. 2017–2024.
Ma, W.C., Denneman, W., and Faber, J., Hazardous exposure of ground-living small mammals to Cd and Pb in contaminated terrestrial ecosystems, Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol., 1991, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 266–270.
Marklund, S.L. and Karlsson, K., Extracellular superoxide dismutase, distribution in the body and therapeutic implications, in Antioxidants in Therapy and Preventive Medicine, New York: Plenum Press, 1990, pp. 1–4.
Martiniaková, M., Omelka, R., Grosskopf, B., and Jancova, A., Yellow-necked mice (Apodemus flavicollis) and bank voles (Myodes glareolus) as zoomonitors of environmental contamination at a polluted area in Slovakia, Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica, 2010, vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 58–68.
Misra, H.P. and Fridovich, I., The role of superoxide anion in the autoxidation of epinephrine and a simple assay for superoxide dismutase, J. Biol. Chem., 1972, vol. 247, no. 10, pp. 3170–3175.
Mozaffarian, D. and Rimm, E.B., Fish intake, contaminants, and human health evaluating the risks and the benefits, J. Am. Med. Assoc., 2006, vol. 296, no. 15, pp. 1885–1899.
Nemova, N.N., Biokhimicheskaya adaptatsiya nakopleniya rtuti u ryb (Biochemical Adaptations of Mercury Accumulation in Fish), Moscow: Nauka, 2005.
Reinecke, S.A., Prinsloo, M.W., and Reinecke, A.J., Resistance of Eisenia fetida (Oligochaeta) to cadmium after longterm exposure, Ecotoxicol. Environ. Safety, 1999, vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 75–80.
Scheuhammer, A.M., Meyer, M.W., Sandheinrich, M.B., and Murray, M.W., Effects of environmental methylmercury on the health of wild birds, mammals, and fish, AMBIO, 2007, vol. 36, no. 1, pp. 12–18.
Skurikhin, V.N. and Dvinskaya, L.M., Determination of alpha-tocopherol and retinol in blood plasma of farm animal by microcolumn high-performance liquid chromatography, Sel’skokhoz. Biol., 1989, no. 4, pp. 127–129.
Sokolov, F.P., Ecological features of Eurasian mole (Talpa europaea L.) of the Upper Volga region, Extended Abstract of Cand. Sci. (Biol) Dissertation, Novosibirsk, 1984.
Strom, S.M., Total mercury and methylmercury residues in river otters (Lutra canadensis) from Wisconsin, Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol., 2008, vol. 54, no. 3, pp. 546–554.
Talmage, S.S. and Walton, B.T., Small mammals as monitors of environmental contaminants, Rev. Environ. Contam. Toxicol., 1991, vol. 119, pp. 47–145.
Vucetich, L.M., Vucetich, J.A., Cleckner, L.B., Gorski, P.R., and Peterson, R.O., Mercury concentration in deer mouse (Peromyceus maniculatus) tissues from Isle Royale National Park, Environ. Pollut., 2001, vol. 114, pp. 113–118.
Wiener, J.G., Krabbenhoft, D.P., Heinz, G.H., and Scheuhammer, A.M., Ecotoxicology of mercury, in Handbook of Ecotoxicology, Boca Raton, FL: Lewis Publishers, 2002, pp. 409–463.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Original Russian Text © E.P. Antonova, V.A. Ilyukha, V.T. Komov, E.A. Khizhkin, S.N. Sergina, V.A. Gremyachikh, T.B. Kamshilova, V.V. Belkin, A.E. Yakimova, 2016, published in Povolzhskii Ekologicheskii Zhurnal, 2016, No. 4, pp. 371–380.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Antonova, E.P., Ilyukha, V.A., Komov, V.T. et al. The Mercury Content and Antioxidant System in Insectivorous Animals (Insectivora, Mammalia) and Rodents (Rodentia, Mammalia) of Various Ecogenesis Conditions. Biol Bull Russ Acad Sci 44, 1272–1277 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359017100028
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062359017100028