Lysosomal Membrane Stability and Metallothioneins in Digestive Gland of Mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis Lam.) as biomarkers in a Field Study

摘要

The lysosomal membrane destabilization and the metal- lothionen content in the digestive gland ells of mussels (Mytilus gallorpovincialis Lam.), collected along the east coast of the North Adriatic (Istrain and Kvarnerine coast, Croatia), were examined over a period of four years (1996-1999). The lysosomal membrane stability, as a biomarker of general stress, showed that the membrane labilization period in mussesl from polluted, urban-and industrial-related areas was significantly decreased (p<0.05) when compared to mussels from control, clean sewater sites. In the harbour of Rijeka, the most con- taminated site, the lysosomal membrane stability was re- duced by more than 70/100 compared to the control.