Abstract
The effects of residing in a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contaminated environment on the cytometric characteristics of hemocytes from the American oyster Crassostrea virginica (collected from the Rappahannock River, Virginia, USA in Spring 1991) were analyzed using a multichannel Coulter counter (10000 hemocytes oyster-1). The percentage and relative volume of small-sized hemocytes (>2.5 to 5.1 μm) was higher (P<0.01) in oysters from Hospital Point (HP, a PAH contaminated site) in the Elizabeth River (ER), Virginia, compared to oysters from the relatively unpolluted Rappahannock River (RR). On the contrary, a decrease (P<0.001) in the percentage and volume of larger hemocytes (>6.2 to 10 μm) was observed in the HP-oysters. Maintaining the RR-oysters at the HP site for 8 wk induced statistically significant increases in the number and relative volume contribution of the >2.5 to 5.1 μm hemocytes and sharp decreases in the occurrence and relative volume of >6.2 to 13 μm cells (P<0.01). By depurating the HP-oysters in the York River (the control site), the number of, and volume contributed by the small hemocytes (>2.5 to 5.1 μm) showed a significant decrease over time as compared to the baseline values. On the other hand, the relative number of >6.2 to 13 μm hemocytes increased sharply within 8 wk (P<0.001). This indicates that these changes are both inducible and reversible and, at least in part, due to exposure to the ER-sediment. Based on these studies, oyster hemocyte cytometric characteristics could be developed as a sensitive biomarker of exposure to PAH.
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Communicated by O. Kinne, Oldenforf/Lube
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Sami, S., Faisal, M. & Huggett, R.J. Alterations in cytometric characteristics of hemocytes from the American oyster Crassostrea virginica exposed to a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contaminated environment. Marine Biology 113, 247–252 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00347278
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00347278