Evaluation of sediment pollution in waste dumping sites using polychaeta, Perinereis nuntia

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the biological effects of marine sediment layer in muck dumping sites on the sediment-dwelling organisms. The marine sediments were collected from 4 pumping sites in the Yellow Sea including 1 non-dumping site (YBR-007), 3 currently dumping sites (YB-053 : innermost, YB-049 : middle, YB-046 : outermost).The pore waters were prepared from the 4 sediment samples and used for the exposure experiments of a polychaeta, Perinereis nuntia. The 4 groups of polychaetas were exposed to the pore waters and compared with a group exposed to control seawater and the other group exposed to 200 ppb of CdCl2 for 24 hours, respectively. RNAs were extracted from the 6 groups and transcriptional changes of 8 genes including 2 metal binding genes (ferritin and hemerythrin-like metalloprotein) and 4 oxidative stress related genes (catalase, glutathione peroxidase 1, glutathione peroxidase 3, glutathione S-transferase-α, heat shock protein 90α and MnCu superoxide dismutase). In the Cd exposure group, the gene expressions of hemerythrin-like metalloprotein (HLM, 563.0-fold), ferritin (FER, 93.5-fold) and catalase (CAT, 30.6-fold) decreased comparing with those of control seawater group (CSG). In YBR-007(non-pumping) group, the expressions of FER (31.5-fold), HLM (17.3-fold) and CAT (16.8-fold) decreased comparing with those of control seawater group. In innermost dumping site YB