Elsevier

Environmental Pollution

Volume 156, Issue 1, November 2008, Pages 221-226
Environmental Pollution

Short communication
Chronic copper exposure and fatty acid composition of the amphipod Dikerogammarus villosus: Results from a field study

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2007.12.010Get rights and content

Abstract

Field study allows assessment of long-term effects on fatty acid (FA) composition of organisms under chronic exposure to metals. One expected effect of copper is peroxidation of lipids and essentially polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). FA analysis was established for the amphipod Dikerogammarus villosus subjected to different degrees of copper exposure (4–40 μg Cu L−1). A previous study in our team showed that this species regulates its body Cu concentration (106–135 mg Cu kg−1 dry weight). Despite the high capacity of bioaccumulation, the absence of a correlation between copper concentration in D. villosus and water prevents its use as bioindicator of copper pollution. Both sexes from the most polluted site showed the lowest total FA content, but the highest PUFA percent, mainly of the long-chained variety (C20–C22). Mechanisms leading to the prevention of lipid peroxidation in this species were discussed (metallothioneins and intracellular granules) and proposed with support from literature data.

Introduction

Copper (Cu) is one of the metals most widely used in the world for industry. Among crustaceans, it plays an essential role in the functioning of many proteins, such as the respiratory protein hemocyanin and some enzymes; however, in excess, this trace metal is very toxic to some aquatic organisms (Bossuyt and Janssen, 2005, Madoni and Romeo, 2006). It generates excessive free radicals leading to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which react with cellular components resulting in peroxidation of lipids, oxidation of proteins, and changes in the cellular redox status (Regoli, 2000, Livingstone, 2001, Florence et al., 2002) leading ultimately to cell death (Elia et al., 2003). Lipid peroxidation (LP) is a chain reaction between polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and ROS, and it produces both lipid peroxides and hydrocarbon polymers that are highly toxic to the cell. It is considered to be a major phenomenon by which oxyradicals can cause tissue damage leading to impaired cellular function and alterations in the physicochemical properties of cell membranes, which in turn disrupt vital functions (Rikans and Hornbrook, 1997). Another factor affecting the potential for oxidative damage is the level of target molecules like PUFA (Di Giulio et al., 1995). Thus, the incidence of lipid peroxide may depend upon the level of ROS generated by copper and the composition of fatty acids in the organisms. Field study can enable assessment of the long-term effects of trace metal exposure on organisms. Here, we report field study results on the fatty acid composition of the amphipod gammarid Dikerogammarus villosus exposed to chronic Cu contamination. This species, native to Ponto-Caspian region, is the latest successful invader in extending its territory in westward direction in Europe with an impact on native population of the host environment (Dick and Platvoet, 2000, Devin et al., 2001, Bij de Vaate et al., 2002). Except for some work on trace metals' bioaccumulation (Barkacs et al., 2002, Ovari et al., 2002, Sebesvari et al., 2005, Vinot and Pihan, 2005), no studies have been carried out to provide information on D. villosus' response to trace metal pollution. This work is a contribution in assessing the response of this invader amphipod to Cu exposition, as an indirect effect on fatty acid levels and composition. Hence, we deal with two environmental disturbances: exotic species invasion and metal pollution.

Section snippets

Materials and methods

Sampling was carried out in the Moselle River and the Mirgenbach dammed reservoir in northeastern France (Fig. 1). The nuclear power plant at Cattenom releases copper from its brass exchanger. The amount of copper released into the Mirgenbach Reservoir has been estimated at 30 590 kg Cu/year, while the amount of copper circulating in the biotic compartments was estimated at 7315 kg Cu/year. Characteristics and Cu circulation in this reservoir are detailed elsewhere (Vinot, 2004, Vinot and Pihan,

Results and discussion

The Mirgenbach Reservoir differed from the Mos1 and Mos3 stations with 10-fold higher Cu concentration and harder waters. Nutrients' concentration (NO3− and PO42−) showed that Mirgenbach Reservoir presented more eutrophicant potentialities than the other studied stations. However, these potentialities cannot be expressed in terms of chlorophyll a (Table 1) due to the presence of copper (Vinot and Pihan, 2005). The Mos2 station corresponds to the point of water released into the Moselle River

Conclusion

Chronic copper exposure affects D. villosus decreasing its total fatty acids content. The response by different regulation/detoxification mechanisms, may allow this species to retain essential fatty acids of ω3 and ω6 series. This finding may be a key factor in its invasive success of contaminated systems.

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Rousselle Philippe and Morhain Etienne for ion and metal analyses, respectively. We thank EDF-CNPE Cattenom for their support in this study.

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