[Cadmium bioaccumulation and its toxicity in Babylonia areolata under different nutritional status]

An indoor exposure experiment with juvenile Babylonia areolata was conducted to study its survival, growth, cadmium (Cd) accumulation, metallothionein (MT) induction, and glycogen content as well as the DNA integrity of hepatopancreas tissue. The juveniles were starved or fed with mussel (Perna viridis) or clamworm (Perinereis aibuhitensis), and exposed to 50 microg x L(-1) of Cd2+ for 10 weeks. Prolonged starvation and simultaneous exposure to Cd reduced the survival rate of B. areolata, and its glycogen was mobilized in great extent. Feeding with P. viridis or P. aibuhitensis helped the B. areolata to combat Cd toxicity and lessen mortality. After exposed to Cd, the damage of the DNA integrity of hepatopancreas tissue for the B. areolata fed with P. viridis or P. aibuhitensis could be recovered with time, but not for the starved B. areolata. Prolonged starvation caused tissue atrophy and led to Cd accumulation and MT increase, while feeding with P. viridis or P. aibuhitensis increased the B. areolata mass and lowered the Cd accumulation and MT level because of the tissue dilution effect. The B. areolata fed with P. viridis had better growth and lower Cd content than that fed with P. aibuhitensis. This study indicated that starvation intensified the toxicity of Cd to B. areolata, while prey type had significant effects on the growth rate of the B. areolata and indirectly affected its Cd accumulation, MT induction, and glycogen consumption. It was suggested that when using gastropods such as B. areolata as the indicator species to monitor marine environmental pollution, it would be necessary to consider the effects of habitat ecological data including food richness and prey type. Moreover, in the high-density cultivation of B. areolata in factory, rational feeding and periodic measurement of Cd concentration in seawater should be made.