Metal compartmentalization and metallothionein isoforms in mussels from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge; preliminary approach to the fluid-organism relationship
Geret, F.; Rousse, N.; Riso, R.; Sarradin, P.-M.; Cosson, R.P. (1998). Metal compartmentalization and metallothionein isoforms in mussels from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge; preliminary approach to the fluid-organism relationship. Cah. Biol. Mar. 39(3-4): 291-293. https://dx.doi.org/10.21411/CBM.A.2B49D4E7
In: Cahiers de Biologie Marine. Station Biologique de Roscoff: Paris. ISSN 0007-9723; e-ISSN 2262-3094
Also appears in:
(1998). Proceedings of the First International Symposium on Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Biology: Funchal, Madeira, Portugal 20-24 October 1997. Cahiers de Biologie Marine, 39(3-4). Station Biologique de Roscoff: Roscoff. 219-392 pp., more
Hydrothermal fluids are characterized by low pH, high hydrogen sulphide concentrations, anoxia and a high metallic content. Vent metazoans live in a mixing zone whose characteristics are less harsh than the fluids themselves, but they are still more extreme than those conditions typical of the rest of the deep sea water. To survive in such an environment, they have developed specific physiological adaptations which are still under investigation. The present work was designed as a first approach to the relationship between heavy elements present in the water surrounding the organisms and their potential biological impact. Our research on the essential and toxic metals focuses on their concentration and bioavailability in the ambient medium, their bioaccumulation by the organisms and the detoxification mechanisms developed by these organisms. Our study of heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Zn) and metallothionein isoforms in the mussel Bathymodiolus sp. from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is part of a global study on trace element bioaccumulation by hydrothermal vent mytilids. Metallothioneins are low molecular weight proteins involved in metal (Zn, Cu) intracellular regulation whose participation in metal detoxification is well established. Organ-specitic isoforms have been reported in most of the studied species but little is known about their respective functions.
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