HEAT-SHOCK PROTEINS (HSP70) AS BIOMARKERS IN ECOTOXICOLOGICAL STUDIES

Hsp70, so-called stress proteins, were studied in the centipede Lithob ius mutabilis when exposed in laboratory tests to different concentrat ions of the insecticide dimethoate (DMT; 0, 0.012, 0.111 mg kg(-1) dwt ), the detergent linear alkilobenzene sulfonate (LAS; 0, 16, 80, 400, 2000, 10,000 mg kg(-1) dwt), and copper (Cu; 0, 56, 167, 500, 1000, 15 00 mg kg(-1) dwt) and in the field in captured animals from polluted ( 2 and 4 km from a zinc-and-lead smelter) and unpolluted (35 and 40 km from the smelter) areas, Hsp70 in centipedes were also tested for seas onal differences (March and September) in field-captured animals and f or a temperature effect under laboratory conditions (5, 15, and 25 deg rees C). Moreover, hsp70 were examined in housefly (Musca domestica) p upae after rearing larvae on food medium contaminated with DMT or LAS. Hsp70 were found in all animals tested, including controls, and their levels were not clearly related to the laboratory treatment with chem icals or temperature or to the degree of contamination in polluted are as. In centipedes from unpolluted areas, a significant seasonal differ ence in hsp70 content was found. The problems with using hsp70 as a un iversal biomarker in ecotoxicological studies are discussed. (C) 1997 Academic Press.