Neuroendocrine disruption in Mya arenaria clams during gametogenesis at sites under pollution stress

This study examined the neuroendocrine status of clams on intertidal mud flats in the St. Lawrence Estuary and Saguenay Fjord areas during late gametogenesis. The impact of pollution was determined by a test battery of early stress markers (metallothioneins, heme levels, glutathione S-transferase activity), tissue damage (lipid peroxidation and DNA damage) and morphologic characteristics (age, soft-tissue weight ratio and growth index). Neuroendocrinal status was examined by tracking serotonin and dopamine metabolism, monoamine adenylate cyclase activity in synaptosomes, monoamine oxidase and arachidonate cyclooxygenase activities in relation to gametogenetic activity: pyrimidine synthesis, (aspartate transcarbamoylase activity or ATC), vitellogenin-like proteins and gonado-somatic index. The results show that clam soft tissue weights were reduced at sites close to harbours and higher at sites near domestic wastewater outfalls. The age-to-length ratio of clams was generally higher at impacted sites, suggesting reduced growth. The biomarkers of stress or damage confirmed that oxidative stress, DNA damage, metallothioneins and glutathione S-transferase activity were significantly increased at varying degrees, at the polluted sites. Vitellogenin-like proteins and gametogenetic activity were significantly increased at sites influenced by domestic wastewaters. Furthermore, the clams were still in active gametogenesis and not ready for spawning, as indicated by the concordance of the serotonin/dopamine ratio with vitellogenin-like proteins and pyrimidine synthesis. However, gonadal cyclooxygenase activity was increased at polluted sites and significantly correlated with most of the stress biomarkers, suggesting that the clams were in a state of inflammation rather than at the spawning stage. Finally, a multivariate analysis revealed that the sites were readily discriminated with high efficiency (>71%) and that both neuroendocrine physiological markers and stress responses were identified as the major components, thus explaining the global physiological response of the clams. We conclude that the effects of pollution compromise the clams’ health status and that the initiation of gametogenesis in environments contaminated by municipal wastewaters or harbours contributes to the toxic effects of pollution.