doiSerbia

Superoxide dismutase and catalase activities in the digestive gland and gills of the freshwater bivalve Unio pictorum from the Sava river

Borković-Mitić Slavica S. (Department of Physiology, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, Belgrade)
Kovačević Tijana B. (Department of Physiology, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, Belgrade)
Perendija Branka R. (Department of Physiology, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, Belgrade)
Despotović Svetlana G. (Department of Physiology, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, Belgrade)
Gavrić Jelena P. (Department of Physiology, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, Belgrade)
Pavlović S.Z. (Department of Physiology, Institute for Biological Research Siniša Stanković, Belgrade)
Saičić Zorica S. (Department of Physiology, Institute for Biological Research “Siniša Stanković”, Belgrade)

We investigated the potential use of the antioxidant defense enzymes in freshwater mussel (Unio pictorum) as biomarkers of oxidative stress. The enzymatic activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD, EC 1.15.1.1) and catalase (CAT, EC 1.11.1.6), total protein concentration in addition to protein and SOD electrophoretic profiles were examined in the digestive gland and gills of the freshwater bivalve Unio pictorum at two localities on the River Sava. The differences between SOD and CAT activities in examined tissues of freshwater bivalve Unio pictorum reflect dissimilar metabolic and antioxidative activities and this can be the result of both tissue or locality specificities and diverse ecophysiological influences on the organism.

Keywords: Superoxide dismutase, catalase, biomonitoring, Unio pictorum, digestive gland, gills, Sava River