Antioxidant defenses and lipid peroxidation in two Lithodes species from South Atlantic during summer

M. CAROLINA ROMERO; NATASHA SCHVEZOV; M. PAULA SOTELANO; MARIANO J. DIEZ; OLGA FLORENTÍN; FEDERICO TAPELLA; GUSTAVO A. LOVRICH

REVISTA DE BIOLOGIA MARINA Y OCEANOGRAFIA

INST OCEANOLOGIA

Lugar: Valparaíso; Año: 2013 vol. 48 p. 227 - 234

0717-3326

In Southern South America Lithodes santolla and L. confundens are the most valuable king crabs species, speciallydue to their high yields and their high acceptance in the markets. From a physiological point of view, reactive oxygenspecies (ROS) are continuously produced as by-products of cell respiration. These ROS are transformed into less toxicmetabolites by antioxidant enzymes. The aim of the present study was to determine in Lithodes santolla (from San JorgeGulf) and L. confundens (from Atlantic coast of Tierra del Fuego) the baseline status of both antioxidant enzyme activity andlipid peroxidation levels. Activities of catalase (CAT), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), as well as lipid peroxidation weremeasured in the muscle, gills and hepatopancreas. Both species showed antioxidant enzyme activities, and the gills werethe organs with the highest CAT enzyme activities. CAT and GST activities were higher in muscle and gills, respectively, inL. confundens compared with L. santolla, whereas lipid peroxidation was low in both organs. These differences betweenboth species suggest that L. confundens is more capable to afford oxidative stress than L. santolla, which may be a responseto the common occurrence of L. confundens at the intertidal during the spring low tides. Differences in the analysedparameters could be attributed to intrinsic adaptation features of each king crab species and/or to environmentalconditions of each particular study area. Furthermore, our results showed that parameters as CAT, GST and lipid peroxidationcould be proposed as biomarkers of oxidative stress in Lithodes santolla and L. confundens.