Abstract:
Background Crassostrea hongkongensis is an economically valuable shellfish known for its delicious meat and rich nutritional content. Since the 21st century, with the increasing emission of heavy metals, the survival of C. hongkongensis has been greatly threatened.
Objective The aim of this study is to explore the effect of Cu2+ on the survival of C. hongkongensis.
Methods Five treatment groups with copper concentrations of 40.00, 56.62, 79.98, 113.24 and 160.00 mg/L were set up to carry out acute toxicity tests within 96 h, and to investigate the effects of the activities of catalase, total superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione-S transferase in different tissues (mantle, gill, hepatopancreas and gonad ) of C. hongkongensis under Cu2+ stress.
Results Under Cu2+ stress, the median lethal concentrations (LC50) of C. hongkongensis at 48, 72 and 96 h were 116.01, 84.33 and 65.32 mg/L, respectively, and the safe concentration (SC) was 0.65 mg/L. After 96 hours of Cu2+ stress, the antioxidant indices in different tissues of C. hongkongensis were significantly affected (P<0.05) with the extension of the experimental period. In the gill tissue, CAT and T-SOD exhibited an initial increase followed by a decrease, GSH-Px showed a fluctuating pattern, and GSH-ST demonstrated a decrease followed by an increase and then another decrease. In the mantle tissue, there was an upward trend observed for CAT, while T-SOD exhibited a decrease followed by an increase. GSH-Px and GSH-ST, on the other hand, displayed an initial increase before declining. In the hepatopancreas, CAT demonstrated an ascending trend, with T-SOD showing a complex pattern of decrease, increase, and subsequent decrease. GSH-Px and GSH-ST initially increased before trending downwards. Within the gonads, both CAT and GSH-Px followed a pattern of initial increase followed by a decrease, T-SOD showed a decrease-increase-decrease sequence, and GSH-ST decreased initially before increasing.
Conclusion CAT in the hepatopancreas, T-SOD and GSH-ST in the gill, and GSH-Px in the gonad of C. hongkongensis were sensitive to Cu2+. This finding can be used as an important basis for the ecological monitoring of the concentration of Cu2+. The results of this experiment can provide reference for the healthy breeding of C. hongkongensis.