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Monitoring metallothionein-like protein concentrations and cholinesterase activity in tropical cup oysters as biomarkers of exposure to metals and pesticides in the southern Caribbean, Colombia

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Abstract

Metallothionein-like protein concentrations (MT) and three functionally defined fractions of cholinesterase activity (ChE) were quantified in gill and digestive gland homogenates of tropical cup oysters from 5 nearshore locations in the Colombian Caribbean and correlated with sediment and tissue metal (9 metals) and pesticide (22 organophosphates, OPs, and 20 organochlorines—OCPs), as well as water physical–chemical parameters (salinity, pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen). Tissue and sediment pesticide concentrations were below detection limits in all samples, whereas sediment and tissue metal concentrations exceeded environmental thresholds at several locations. Tissue MT and ChE biomarkers varied by a factor of 5–6 between locations. Inhibition of cholinesterase activity was negligible for all 5 sites, despite spatial–temporal variation in ChE activity, consistent with below-detection OP concentrations. Tissue MT and ChE biomarkers correlated with tissue and metal sediment concentrations, yet, statistically significant covariance between biomarkers and water chemistry parameters was also observed, indicating that both, metal concentrations and physical–chemical variables, are likely to be responsible for generating the observed spatial–temporal variations in biomarker patterns.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank I. Marigómez, J. Aguirre-Rubi, N. Etxebarria, M. Soto, and colleagues from the Research Centre for Experimental Marine Biology and Biotechnology (Plentzia Marine Station; PiE-UPV/EHU), University of Basque Country, for performing metal analysis in oyster tissues. We, furthermore, thank L. Espinoza (Invemar, Santa Marta) for pesticide analysis, and the municipal marina of Santa Marta for authorizing access to their facilities. This study was carried out in accordance with decree 1376-2013 by the Colombian Ministry for the Environment and Sustainable Development (MADS) under a general collection permit issued to Jorge Tadeo Lozano University by the Colombian National Authority for Environmental Licenses (ANLA, Res.1271-2014).

Funding

Financial support for this study came in part from a research grant from the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (CARIBIOPOL-AECID 11-CAP2-1595), as well as from a research grant from Jorge Tadeo Lozano University (research grant 560–10-13, project MOSAICO-I) and from a scholarship to A.M. from COLCIENCIAS (Announcement No. 528).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Universidad de Bogota Jorge Tadeo Lozano, Carrera 4 No. 22-61, Bogota, Colombia

    Angela M. Moncaleano-Niño, Maria Camila Gómez-Cubillos, Andrea Luna-Acosta, Luisa Villamil, Samuel Casseres-Ruiz & Michael J. Ahrens

  2. Department of Biology, Ichthyology Laboratory, Ecology and Systematics Unit (UNESIS), Pontifical Javeriana University, Transversal 4 No. 42-00, Bogotá, Colombia

    Maria Camila Gómez-Cubillos

  3. Department of Ecology and Territory, Faculty of Environmental and Rural Studies, Pontifical Javeriana University, Transversal 4 No. 42-00, Bogotá, Colombia

    Andrea Luna-Acosta

  4. Faculty of Engineering, PhD in Biosciences, La Sabana University, Campus “Puente del Común,” Km. 7, Autopista Norte de Bogotá, Chía, Colombia

    Luisa Villamil

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  1. Angela M. Moncaleano-Niño
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Contributions

AMMN: conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, investigation, writing original draft, visualization. MMCC: methodology, formal analysis, writing, review and editing. ALA: conceptualization, methodology, writing, review and editing, funding acquisition. LV: conceptualization, methodology, writing, review and editing. SCR: methodology. MJA: conceptualization, review and editing, project administration, funding acquisition. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Michael J. Ahrens.

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Moncaleano-Niño, A.M., Gómez-Cubillos, M.C., Luna-Acosta, A. et al. Monitoring metallothionein-like protein concentrations and cholinesterase activity in tropical cup oysters as biomarkers of exposure to metals and pesticides in the southern Caribbean, Colombia. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 25157–25183 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17644-7

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