Insights into metal depuration in different tissues of the burrowing crab Neohelice granulata (Dana, 1852)

TRUCHET, DANIELA M.; BUZZI, NATALIA S.; NEGRO, C. LEANDRO; MORA, M. CELESTE; MARCOVECCHIO, JORGE E.

Regional Studies in Marine Science

Elsevier's

Año: 2023

2352-4855

In this article, we address the limited understanding of the recovery abilities ofestuarine organisms following exposure to metals and the lack of research on the mechanismsinvolved in metal sequestration and detoxification. Specifically, our focus is on theburrowing crab, Neohelice granulata, found in the Bahía Blanca estuary. The objectives ofthis study were to a) evaluate the metal content in various tissues of N. granulata before andafter the depuration process, b) identify metal-rich granules (MRG) in the crabs'hepatopancreas and c) examine the relationship between metal loads and theinduction/activity or reversibility of biochemical biomarkers. Following the depuration treatment, a noticeable decrease in metals was observed in the soft tissues compared to thehepatopancreas and the shell. Specifically, the depuration process effectively eliminated Mnand Fe in the form of MRG, but no significant differences were found for other metals,suggesting that MRG might not be the primary detoxification mechanism. Glutathionereductase (GR) and metallothionein (MT) levels significantly decreased after depuration.However, it is worth noting that the duration of the depuration period might not have beensufficient to fully counteract the oxidative stress and damage caused by field exposure.