Use of metallothioneins as biomarkers for environmental quality assessment in the Gulf of Gabès (Tunisia)

• Published in: Environmental monitoring and assessment Vol. 184; no. 4; pp. 2177 - 2192
• Main Authors: Ladhar-Chaabouni, Rim, Machreki-Ajmi, Monia, Hamza-Chaffai, Amel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.04.2012; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abiotic factors; Animals; Aquatic organisms; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bioaccumulation; Biomarkers; Bivalvia; Copper; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental impact; Environmental Management; Environmental monitoring; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Environmental quality; Environmental quality assessment; Fish; Fishes - metabolism; Heavy metals; Indicator organisms; Indicator species; Metallothionein - analysis; Metallothioneins; Metals, Heavy - analysis; Metals, Heavy - metabolism; Mollusks; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Organisms; Phosphates; Pollutants; Pollution detection; Proteins; Salinity; Seawater - chemistry; Sediments; Shellfish; Studies; Toxicity; Tunisia; Warning systems; Water pollution; Tunisia; MED, Tunisia; Gulf of Gabès; Biomarker; Biomonitoring; Review; Metallothionein
• ISSN: 0167-6369; 1573-2959
• DOI: 10.1007/s10661-011-2108-5

Detection and assessment of the impact of pollution on biological resources imply increasing research on early-warning markers such as metallothioneins (MTs) in metal exposure. In this paper, we have collated published information on the use of metallothioneins and metallothionein-like proteins (MTLPs) as biomarkers for environmental quality assessment in the Gulf of Gabès. In this area, some species of fish and bivalve were used as bioindicators of pollution. In these species, an induction of MTs/MTLPs by the essential metals such as Cu and Zn and the non-essential metals such as Cd was observed by different authors who suggest the potential use of these proteins as biomarkers. However, MT concentrations can be influenced by many biotic (sex, maturity stages, and tissues) and abiotic factors (temperature, salinity, and pH). This is essentially the case in field studies where many parameters can randomly affect MT levels, so the endogeneous regulation of MTs must be considered before using MTs as an indicator of heavy metal exposure. Moreover, the use of biomarker cannot be examined independently of the evaluation of techniques that enable its quantification. Therefore, the approach to the use of MTs/MTLP as biomarkers of exposure for an assessment of the physiological status of aquatic organisms is discussed in this paper.