Scholarly record

LYSOSOMAL DESTABILISATION IN THE MOLLUSCA BIVALVIA AS INDICATOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION OF ALBANIAN SOUTHERN ADRIATIK AREA

M. Lika, H. Mankolli

Abstract

The aim of the present study is to investigate the biological effects of contaminants is a combination of chemical and biological measurements. Among biological measurements, investigation of alteration at the cellular or sub-cellular level can provide an early-warning signal of adverse biological response before they are manifested at the population and community level. Lysosome destabilization test has been the method of choice in the present paper. A relatively low retention time of the used red neutral dye amounting at 59 min was detected at the distance of 50 m offshore indicating a high level of the biological stress. Whereas at 200-m distance the retention time sensibly increases at 120min. Comparably higher levels of Hg and Cr were detected at 50-m offshore distance. The present paper introduces an investigation of the environmental status of two marine urban sites in the Albanian Southern Adriatic Area, using the neutral red assay for the determination of the stability of the lysosomal membranes in the blue mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, Lamark, 1819. The NRR times recorded in the granular haemocytes of Narta and Orikum mussels showed that the seasonal variation of this biomarker did not follow a clear trend. The labilization time of the haemocyte lysosomal membrane in the Narta mussels was significantly (p<0.05) less during July (48.37В±30.04 min) than in September 60.78В±23.47 min) and January (62.13В±24.33 min), whereas no significant differences (p<0.05) were noted at this site, or even between the NRRT of the three sampling periods of the Orikum mussels.

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