DOI 10.1007/s10646-006-0069-1
123
334
Sarkar et al.
Edible
clamsa
Crustaceanb
(crabs, shrimp)
Seabirdd
(Herring gull)
Ringed seal
blubbere
0.63.4
1.615.4
2.124.5
1824
6.114
98180
7.412.6
13.824.0
0.20.6
0.218.8
0.4340
0333
34.8904
5016010
65.8140.7
123
Molecular Biomarkers
335
biomarkers) and/or the magnitude of the organisms response to the pollutant (effect biomarkers or biomarkers of
stress).
Significance of the use of biomarker
They identify that interactions have taken place between contaminants and the organisms and they measure sublethal effects.
Whereas chemical analysis can measure only a fraction
of the contaminants but reveals nothing about the adverse effects.
They detect the presence of both known and unknown
contaminants.
Sublethality and early detection of effects provides
warning signals for remedial or preventive action to be
taken.
They provide a temporally and spatially integrated
measure of bioavailable pollutants.
They attribute exposure and risks to environmental
pollutants, i.e. through the specificity of the responses
and the mechanistic understanding or the deleterious
consequences to the animal.
They have the potential to anticipate the changes
occurring in the ecosystem due to the impact of pollution.
They can be used in a predictive way, allowing the
initiation of bioremediation strategies before irreversible environmental damage of ecological consequences
occurs.
They can help establish the important routes of exposure by application to species from different trophic
levelsand thus can aid in prioritizing monitoring
schemes and strategies for intervention or remediation.
Toxicity bioassays can provide information on the relative toxicities of specific chemicals or effluents, but
extrapolation to the field situation is very difficult for
many reasons, including chemical speciation, absorption and uptake effects, accumulation through food
chains, and sublethal and modes of toxic action not
detected in short-term tests.
They can detect exposure to and the toxic effects of
parent compounds and metabolites of readily metabolisable and eliminated contaminants such as PAHs
and organophosphate.
They can integrate the toxicological interactions of
mixtures of contaminants such as mixtures of various
congeners of PCBs, PAHs, metals (Domouthsidou et al.
2004) to give an expression of the cumulative effect at
a particular molecular, cellular or tissue target (Siu
et al. 2003).
They can act as short-term predictors of long-term
ecological effects through integration into a suite of
measurements and understanding at different levels of
contamination (Behrens and Segner, 2005).
They are applicable to both laboratory and field studies.
The development of biomarkers involves laboratory
experimentation to first identify potential responses and
establish casual mechanisms before application to field.
Table 2 Specific molecular biomarkers of biological effects of contaminants on marine organisms and the analytical technique of their
measurements
Biomarker
Cytochrome P4501A
(mainly hepatic)
DNAdamage
Observation
Analytical techniques
Measurement of enzyme activity (Fluorometric
or spectrophotometric), enzyme amount (ELISA)
DNA strand breaks measurement, DNA-adduct
formation by fluorometric measurements
Measurement of enzyme activity (spectrophometric
measurement, delta pH metric measurements)
Estimation of protein (differential pulse polarography,
liquid chromatography) boundmetal
(atomic absorption spectroscopy)
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Sarkar et al.
Molecular Biomarkers
337
Acetylcholinesterase inhibition
Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzyme is responsible for
hydrolyzing the neurotransmitter acetylcholine into choline
and acetic acid. Acetylcholinesterase is usually located in
the membranes (e.g. of erythrocytes) of vertebrates and
non-vertebrates; the enzyme controls ionic currents in
excitable membranes and plays an essential role in nerve
conduction processes at the neuromuscular junction. The
inhibition of AChE is linked directly with the mechanism
of toxic action of organophosphorus and carbamate insecticides, viz. irreversible or reversible binding to the catalytic site of the enzyme and potentiation of cholinergic
effects. As an indicator of exposure to these compounds,
AChE and non-specific cholinesterase activities in blood
and tissues emerged as a diagnostic tool in the biomedical
area. The quantification of this enzyme has been applied to
laboratory and field studies with both vertebrates and
invertebrates to assess exposure to organophosphorus and
carbamate insecticides (Pfeifer et al. 2005; Magni et al.
2005). Marine bivalves such as oysters and mussels are
widely used as bioindicators of contamination in the
monitoring of pollutant effects. As filter feeders, these
species are known to be good general indicators of chemical contamination (Bocquene et al. 1997). Sturm et al.
(1999) reported the characteristics of cholinesterases from
brain and muscle tissue of three marine teleosts, Limanda
limanda, Platichthys flesus and Serranus cabrilla, to provide basal information for environmental monitoring in
coastal and marine areas.
123
338
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Molecular Biomarkers
Acknowledgments The authors thank Dr S.R. Shetye, Director, NIO,
Dr M.D. Zingde, Dy. Director, NIO and Dr S.W.A. Naqvi, Dr C.G.
NaiK, scientists, COD for their constant encouragement and valuable
suggestions. They acknowledge the services of Mr Sham Akerkar and
Mr Arun Mahale for their cooperation in computation of figures.
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