Organochlorinecompoundsingonadsandgametes of bivalve mollusk Mytilus galloprovincialis Lam., cultivated near the shores of the Crimea (the Black Sea)
The study of marine pollution by organochlorine xenobiotics is important due to their bioaccumulation ability and toxic effects on marine organisms of different trophic levels. In bodies of such filter-feeding organisms as bivalves, organochlorine compounds concentrate in amounts significantly higher than the content of the pollutants in the environment. The aim of the work is studying the redistribution of organochlorine pesticides such as p, p'-DDT and its metabolites p, p'-DDE and p, p'-DDD, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in gonads of mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, collected at the mussel-and-oyster farm in the water area of Sevastopol (the Crimea) before and after spawning, and in its released eggs and sperm. The content of PCB congeners, DDT, and its metabolites are determined by capillary column gas chromatography with electron capture detector. In all samples of mussels, five PCB congeners, DDT and its metabolites, DDE and DDD, are detected. The concentration of PCBs in the samples is, on average, over 70 times higher than that of DDT and its metabolites and accounts for 97 - 100% of the total organochlorine compounds (OCs). The highest concentrations are determined for the highly chlorinated PCBs 101, 138 and 153. The level of bioaccumulation of OCs in gonads of mussels depends on both the concentration of these compounds in water and the physiological state of mussels, namely on the content of lipids. The release of gametes reduces the content of OCs in gonads of mussels as a result of transfer of OCs to the eggs and sperm and thereby to the marine environment. The total OC concentration does not exceed the sanitary standards of the Russian Federation for seafood.