LUXAMA, J.; CRAWFORD, A.; CARROLL, M.A.; CATAPANE, E.J.; Medgar Evers College, Brooklyn, NY; Medgar Evers College, Brooklyn, NY; Medgar Evers College, Brooklyn, NY; Medgar Evers College, Brooklyn, NY: Distribution of Cadmium and Copper in Tissues of Crassostrea virginica

Jamaica Bay (JB), NY contains metals and other pollutants. We showed Crassostrea virginica seed transplanted to JB accumulated copper and other metals, copper reduced gill mitochondrial O₂ utilization in vitro and copper pretreatments heightened this effect. Copper pretreatments also reduced gill glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity and prevented its induction in response to p-nonylphenol, a pollutant, suggesting oysters growing in a copper polluted area may experience physiological difficulties if challenged by organic pollutants requiring detoxification by GST. We studied the distribution of copper in C. virginica tissues transplanted to JB and grown 1 year either 1 foot below the surface or 1 foot above the sediment. Tissues were dissected, freeze dried, digested in nitric acid and copper measured using electrothermal vaporization with deuterium lamp background correction in an AA spectrophotometer fitted with a graphite furnace. Cadmium and copper were distributed in tissues in µg/g amounts, with shell having very low amounts. These values correlate well with published studies of whole animal levels of oysters grown in other polluted areas. Cadmium and copper distributions were not homogeneous throughout the animals and paradoxically, despite heavy metal contamination of the sediment, oysters grown 1 foot above the sediment accumulated less cadmium and copper than those grown at the surface.The work was supported by grants 1R25GM62003 of NIGMS, 0516041071 of NYSDOE, the CUNY Groundworks Program and 66288-0035 of PSC-CUNY. We thank Frank M. Flower & Sons, Inc., Oyster Bay, NY for supplying oysters.