A molecular biomarker system for assessing the health of gastropods (Ilyanassa obsoleta) exposed to natural and anthropogenic stressors

We developed a Molecular Biomarker System (MBS) to assess the physiological status of mud snails (Ilyanassa obsoleta) challenged by exposure to high t emperature, cadmium, atrazine, endosulfan and the water-accommodating fract ion of bunker fuel #2. The MBS is used to assay specific cellular parameter s of the gastropod cell that are indicative of a non-stressed or stressed c ondition. The MBS distinguished among responses to each stressor and to non -stressed control conditions. For example, the biomarkers metallothionein a nd cytochrome P450 2E1 homologue distinguished between metal and non-metal stresses. MBS data from this study corroborate toxicological studies of org anismal responses to endosulfan, atrazine, fuel and cadmium stresses. The M BS technology aids in the accurate diagnosis of the snail's health conditio n because the physiological significance of the changes of each biomarker i s well known. This technology is particularly relevant for environmental mo nitoring because gastropods are used as key indicator species in many estua rine, marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. Finally, the Molecular Biomarker System technology is relatively inexpensive, easy to implement, precise and can be quickly adapted to an automated, high-throughput system for large sample analysis. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserv ed.