|
(W/MF157) Adenylate energy charge as a tool for evaluating toxicity. Picado, Ana1, Mendonça, Elsa1, 1 ABSTRACT- Man-induced modifications of the environment are likely to stress organisms, consequently ecophysiological or ecobiochemical-based diagnostics are needed. Methods such as Adenylate energy charge (AEC) appear very interesting as they have a global character and respond not only to specific contaminants but to a large series of natural or man-induced stressing agents generally present in the environment at low concentrations. Such total or global indexes do have their natural place in any analytical approach of long-term effects of low level contaminants present in a marine environment.Adenylate energy charge is directly related to the cellular concentrations of the three adenylates nucleotides ATP, ADP and AMP. This biochemical index reaches high values (0.9) under optimal conditions but drops rapidly in the presence of stressing agents. In invertebrates, AEC displays a wide range of values according to the importance of the internal stress or to the variations in the external environment of the organisms (natural or anthropogenic). The use of AEC as a physiological marker for different species and stressing situations are presented. Our results show that AEC is modified in animals sampled in polluted areas. The use of AEC in bivalve and polychaete species for in situ evaluation allowed a classification among different sampling sites in what concerns environmental quality. Biochemical and physiological markers in monitoring exposure effects of pollution in organisms can be used as a complementary tool in impact and environmental management studies. Key words: biomarkers, AEC, invertebrates, field studies |
