Analysis of Trace Element Concentrations and Antioxidant Enzyme Activity in Muscle Tissue of the Atlantic Sharpnose Shark, Rhizoprionodon terraenovae.

In this study, concentrations of cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, selenium, silver, and zinc were measured in the muscle of Rhizoprionodon terraenovae (Atlantic sharpnose shark) from 12 sites along the coast of the southeastern United States. Activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase) also were examined in the muscle tissue of R. terraenovae. A total of 165 samples were analyzed, and differences in trace element bioaccumulation and enzyme activity were observed across sites. R. terraenovae samples collected from South Florida and South Carolina had the highest cumulative trace element concentrations whereas those collected from North Carolina and Alabama had the lowest cumulative concentrations. Trace element concentrations in shark muscle tissue were significantly correlated to antioxidant enzyme activity, particularly with glutathione peroxidase, suggesting that this enzyme may serve as a non-lethal, biomarker of metal exposure in R. terraenovae. This is one of the most extensive studies providing reference levels of trace elements and oxidative stress enzymes in a single elasmobranch species within the U.S. PMID: 32865634 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Arch Environ Contam Toxicol Source Type: research