Biomarker responses and genotoxicity in the mud snail (Bullacta exarata) as indicators of coastal contamination

In the present study different biomarker responses and genotoxicity were determined in wild mud snails (Bullacta exarata) collected from 3 sampling sites in Bohai Bay in northeastern China, which is a region that is under considerable anthropogenic influence. Significant spatial variability of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and metallothionein (MT)-like proteins were recorded, while glutathione transferase (GST), catalase (CAT), and vitellin-like proteins (Vn’s) were not observed. Furthermore, genomic DNA that was amplified with 4 fluorescence-labeled primer pairs showed variable genetic distances among the 3 wild mud snail populations found in Bohai Bay, which may be correlated with differences in the types of environmental genotoxicants, such as heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. This multi-biomarker approach provided an improved understanding of the potential toxicological impact of contaminated sediments on benthic organisms.