Risposte biochimiche nel granchio Pachygrapsus marmoratus per la valutazione della contaminazione ambientale del porto di Livorno (Italia).

The main purpose of the present investigation was to assess the health status of Livorno harbour, through the responses of a set of biomarkers in the crab Pachygrapsus marmoratus (Fabricius, 1787). This investigation is part of the IMPACT project (Port Impact on Marine Protected Area: crossborder co-operative actions), and the aim is to debug cross-borders management plans in order to actually protect the Marine Protected Areas. Male and female of the crabs were collected from two different areas: Livorno harbour, considered the polluted area, and the control area, the Marine Protected Area “Secche della Meloria”, located just a few miles from the Livorno harbour. A battery of biomarkers was employed to assess neurotoxic effects (acetylcholinesterase, AChE activity), energy metabolism (isocitrate dehydrogenease, IDH; lactate dehydrogenease, LDH), oxidative stress (lipid peroxidation, LPO; glutathione S-transferase, GST; glutathione peroxidase, GPX; glutathione reductase, GR; catalase, CAT; glutathione, GSH) and DNA damage (erythrocytic nuclear abnormalities, ENAs assay). Moreover, the levels of trace elements and PAHs were evaluated in the specimens. The results of LPO, CAT, GST, GSH and ENA assay showed that the crabs sampled in Livorno harbour are exposed to contaminants able to cause oxidative stress and genotoxic effects. The average values of LPO and ENA assay showed a statistically significant difference between specimens collected into Livorno harbour and those collected in the marine protected area. The average values of LPO were about three times higher in crabs sampled in polluted area in comparison to those sampled in the control area. Although the females showed higher values in comparison with the males, no significant differences between sex were found. A statistically significant difference was found between the two sampling sites regarding energetic metabolism biomarkers. The crab P. marmoratus, used as a bioindicator to investigate the contamination in a port area using a multi biomarker approach, can be considered a good model organism for marine coastal environment monitoring.