Persistent organic pollutants in a marine bivalve on the Marennes-Oléron Bay and the Gironde Estuary (French Atlantic Coast) - part 2: potential biological effects.

Contaminant effects on defence responses of ecologically and economically important organisms, such as the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas, are likely to influence their ability to resist infectious diseases, particularly at the young stages. The aim of this study was to explore the potential relationships between organic contaminants accumulated in the soft tissues of juvenile oysters, defence responses and physiological condition. Oysters were transplanted during summer and winter periods in different sites in the Marennes-Oléron Bay, the first area of oyster production in France, and in the Gironde Estuary, the biggest estuary in Occidental Europe. Amongst the battery of biochemical and physiological biomarkers applied in the present work [superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), malondyaldehyde (MDA), catecholase, laccase and lysozyme in gills, digestive glands, mantle and haemolymph, glycogen, proteins and lipids in the digestive gland and the condition index at the whole-organism level], MDA and lysozyme in the digestive gland and SOD, GPx and laccase in plasma contributed in order to significantly discriminate the sites in which oysters bioaccumulated different levels of heavy polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (HPAHs), polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), polybromodiphenylethers (PBDEs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs) and lindane. These results strengthen the hypothesis that it is possible to differentiate sites depending on their contamination levels and biological effects by carrying out studies with transplanted juvenile oysters. In addition, correlations were found between antioxidant and immune-defence responses, and PAH and DDT body burdens in the first area of oyster production in France (the Marennes-Oléron Bay) and where considerable oyster mortalities have been reported. This result suggests that the presence of organic chemical contaminants in the Marennes-Oléron Bay may influence defence responses in juveniles of C. gigas, and, therefore, could influence their ability to resist infectious diseases.