The subcellular fate of cadmium and zinc in the scallop Chlamys nobilis during waterborne and dietary metal exposure

Subcellular metal distribution has received increasing attention in aquatic toxicology studies, but the relationship between metal distribution and metal biokinetics remains largely unexplored. A series of short-term experiments on different concentrations of dissolved and dietary metals and on metal elimination were conducted to investigate the dynamics of subcellular distribution of Cd and Zn in the scallop Chlamys nobilis, a bivalve species that is known to accumulate very high concentrations of Cd and Zn in its tissues. Our results showed that, in general, both Cd and Zn were sequestered in insoluble forms (organelles, metal-rich granules, and cellular debris). The main binding pool for the newly acquired metals was organelles for Cd and cellular debris for Zn. Metallothionein-like protein (MTLP) was the most important storage pool for Cd in the scallops. Storage in the non-toxic form both in organelles and MTLP instead of through exocytosis was the major detoxification strategy to control Cd and accounted for the low efflux rate of Cd from scallops. In contrast to Cd, the main binding pool for Zn was cellular debris. Significant changes were found in the scallops when they were challenged with different concentrations of metals in the aqueous and food phases. Such changes provide important information on how scallops handle metals when there is increasing metal uptake. The redistribution of Zn among each subcellular compartment was much faster than the redistribution of Cd, suggesting an effective regulation mechanism for Zn in scallops. Thus, knowing subcellular metal distribution helps in studying the toxicity of both waterborne and dietborne metals