A baseline study of the metallothioneins content in digestive gland of the Norway lobster Nephrops norvegicus from Northern Adriatic Sea: Body size, season, gender and metal specific variability

Highlights: • Body size affected the seasonal trend of MTs content in lobster's digestive gland. • Gender had no influence on MTs content. • MTs content of larger lobsters was positively correlated to Cd, As and Hg concentration. • ROS level was negatively correlated to MTs content of small lobsters. • Lipids content was negatively correlated to MTs content and metals concentration. - Abstract: Metallothioneins content was investigated in digestive gland of two wild-caught Norway lobster Nephrops norvegicus populations from the Northern Adriatic Sea, in relation to body size, season and gender. Concomitant accumulation of cadmium, mercury, arsenic, lead, chromium and manganese, reactive oxygen species concentration and energy reserves in digestive gland were also assessed. While differences between genders were not recorded, metallothioneins content seasonal trends were affected by body size. Most of parameters displayed inconsistent trends across sampling sites. Significant correlation between metallothioneins content and cadmium, arsenic and mercury concentrations was recorded only for larger lobsters. A negative correlation of reactive oxygen species concentration and metallothioneins content was observed for small, but not large lobsters. Energy reserves, in particular lipids, could considerably influence biochemical and chemical parameters variations. The present results constitute the essential baseline for future studies aimed at evaluating the N. norvegicus health in relation to metal contamination of coastal sediments.