Bioaccumulation of Arsenic Species in Rays from the Northern Adriatic Sea

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Zdenka Šlejkovec²  Anja Stajnko²  Ingrid Falnoga²  Lovrenc Lipej¹  Darja Mazej²  Milena Horvat²  Jadran Faganeli¹ 

[1] Marine Biology Station, National Institute of Biology, Fornače 41, Piran 6330, Slovenia; E-Mails:;Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia; E-Mails:

关键词: arsenic;    Pteromylaeus bovinus;    Myliobatis aquila;    Pteroplatytrygon violacea;    bioaccumulation;    biomagnification;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms151222073

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The difference in arsenic concentration and speciation between benthic (Pteromylaeus bovinus, Myliobatis aquila) and pelagic rays (Pteroplatytrygon violacea) from the northern Adriatic Sea (Gulf of Trieste) in relation to their size (age) was investigated. High arsenic concentrations were found in both groups with tendency of more efficient arsenic accumulation in benthic species, particularly in muscle (32.4 to 362 µg·g⁻¹ of total arsenic). This was attributed to species differences in arsenic access, uptake and retention. In liver most arsenic was present in a form of arsenobetaine, dimethylarsinic acid and arsenoipids, whereas in muscle mainly arsenobetaine was found. The good correlations between total arsenic/arsenobetaine and size reflect the importance of accumulation of arsenobetaine with age. Arsenobetaine is an analogue of glycine betaine, a known osmoregulator in marine animals and both are very abundant in mussels, representing an important source of food for benthic species P. bovinus and M. aquila.

【 授权许可】

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© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.