Assessing the health of grass shrimp (Palaeomonetes pugio) exposed to natural and anthropogenic stressors: a molecular biomarker system.

We developed a molecular biomarker system (MBS) to assess the physiological status of Palaomenetes pugio (grass shrimp) challenged with exposure to heat stress, cadmium, atrazine, and the water-accommodating fraction of either diesel fuel or bunker fuel No. 2. The MBS assayed 9 specific cellular parameters of shrimp that are indicative of a nonstressed or stressed condition: heat-shock protein 60, heat-shock protein 70, alpha B-crystallin homologue, lipid peroxide, total glutathione level, ubiquitin, mitochondrial manganese superoxide dismutase, metallothionein, and cytochrome P-450 2E homologue. Using these 9 parameters, the MBS can distinguish between the responses to each stressor, and to the nonstressed control conditions. The MBS was able to determine the structural integrity of the cell as defined by protein turnover, protein chaperoning, and lipid composition via lipid peroxide levels, and the status of key metabolic processes such as cytoskeletal integrity and glutathione redox potential. This technology aids in the accurate diagnosis of the health of shrimp because the physiological significance of changes of each parameter is well known. This technology is particularly relevant for environmental monitoring because grass shrimp are used as key indicator species in many estuarine ecosystems. Finally, this system is easy to implement, precise, and can be quickly adapted to an automated high-throughput system for mass sample analysis.