The white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, a globally important cultured prawn species, is an ideal animal for studying the impairment caused by the effects of heavy metals that are often detected in coastal areas. In this study, L. vannamei was exposed to different concentrations of cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) for up to 28 d. Histopathological alterations in the hepatopancreas were observed in L. ...

Microorganisms were screened for their ability to release cadmium from scallop hepatopancreas, which is the main residue after removing of the edible parts of scallop. The isolated strain, 23-0-11, identified as Arthrobacter nicotinovorans, secreted a protease which released cadmium from scallop hepatopancreas into the liquid medium. The molecular mass of the enzyme was estimated to be 27 kDa. ...

We conducted a screening level assessment of contaminants in blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) and oysters (Crassostrea virginica) from bays and bayous in the Pensacola, FL area. Tissue samples were analyzed for 17 dioxins/furans, 12 dioxin-like PCB (DL-PCBs) congeners, mercury, and various metals. Contaminant levels were compared to screening values (SV) calculated using U.S. EPA recommendation...

The enzymes Acetylcholinesterase (AchE) and Lactatedehydrogenase (LDH) are used as biological markers in the present study. Enzymes are highly sensitive and used to evaluate the biological effects of organophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos in freshwater mussel Lamellidens marginalis. The test organisms were exposed to sub-lethal concentration (5 ppm) of chlorpyrifos for 30 days and allowed to re...

The presence ofthe tricarboxylic-acid cycle (Krebs's cycle) has been demonstrated in most mammalian tissues investigated (Krebs & Johnson, 1937; Green, Loomis & Auerbach, 1948), where it appears to be the major pathway for the oxidation of carbohydrate, fat and protein intermediaries. No detailed examinations have been made in the invertebrates. However, evidence has been presented of Krebs's c...

Intracellular fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) are multifunctional cytosolic lipid-binding proteins found in vertebrates and invertebrates. In this work, we used RACE to obtain a full-length cDNA of Sp-FABP from the mud crab Scylla paramamosain. The open reading frame of the full length cDNA (886 bp) encoded a 136 amino acid polypeptide that showed high homology with related genes from other...

In the framework of a wide monitoring programme on the presence of heavy metals in marine organisms caught in the South Adriatic Sea, cadmium and total mercury concentrations were determined in flesh and hepatopancreas of 512 specimens of two species of cephalopods. The aim of the study was to establish the quality of the marine food with respect to the health of consumers and to investigate ca...

Gafrarium divaricatum (Gmelin) was exposed to sublethal concentrations of xylene (4.25 and 8.50 mg/l), benzene (4.35 and 8.70 mg/l) and gear oil-WSF (1 and 2%) for 30 days. There was a decline in condition index of the treated clams while moisture content showed an increase on day 30. Glycogen content of hepatopancreas of the clams treated with the pollutants registered an initial increase on d...

To utilize a typical squid processing by-product, hepatopancreas was enzymatically hydrolyzed, then subjected to a plastein reaction. The substrate concentration that gave the highest plastein yield was 30% by using Alkalase. The optimum pH for the plastein synthesis with Alkalase ranged from 6 to 9. The dominant molecular size of the formed plastein was about 2000. Alkalase mediated plastein r...

The phospholipid and protein compositions of mitochondrial membranes from hepatopancreas of active and estivating terrestrial snails ( Cepaea nemoralis) were compared. Mitochondria from estivating snails contained 82.7% less cardiolipin, and this was associated with an 83.9% reduction in cytochrome- c oxidase activity. Substantial changes also occurred in the proportional amounts of other indiv...