Metal pollution is a long-standing concern and bioindicators are commonly used in ecotoxicological studies to monitor impacted wildlife populations for evidence of sublethal effects. Significant variation in the response of common biomarkers to metals is reported across taxa, thus necessitating careful characterization in model organisms. In this study, we describe the regulation of glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione (GSH), and metallothionein (MT) by zinc chloride (0.6, 0.9, 1.2, 2.4, 4.8, 9.6 μg g⁻¹) and copper chloride (0.6, 0.9, 1.2 μg g⁻¹) in signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus). Zinc chloride did not alter GST activity relative to controls in the hepatopancreas. Crayfish exposed to copper chloride exhibited decreased GST activity at the lowest dose tested (0.6 μg g⁻¹) with no change observed at the higher doses. GSH did not change in response to either metal when sexes were grouped together. MT concentrations increased in response to zinc (2.4, 4.6, and 9.6 μg g⁻¹ doses) and copper (0.6, 0.9, and 1.2 μg g⁻¹ doses) in gill tissue. In tail tissue, MT increased at the 2.4 and 4.8 μg g⁻¹ zinc chloride doses and all the concentrations of copper tested. Sex-specific differences in endogenous antioxidant expression were also analyzed with no clear patterns emerging. We concluded that these endpoints are sensitive to zinc and copper in signal crayfish, although careful interpretation is needed when applying them in field studies given the variation in responses, non-monotonic dose responses, and differences in biotic and abiotic factors that inevitably exist in different aquatic ecosystems.

金属污染是一个长期存在的问题，生物指示剂通常用于生态毒理学研究，以监测受影响的野生动物种群，以获得亚致死效应的证据。据报道，常见生物标志物对金属的反应存在显着差异，因此需要对模型生物进行仔细的表征。在这项研究中，我们描述了氯化锌（0.6、0.9、1.2、2.4、4.8、9.6 μg g ^-1）和氯化铜对谷胱甘肽 S-转移酶 (GST)、谷胱甘肽 (GSH) 和金属硫蛋白 (MT) 的调节作用(0.6, 0.9, 1.2 μg g ^-1 ) 在信号小龙虾 ( Pacifastacus leniusculus）。相对于肝胰腺中的对照，氯化锌没有改变 GST 活性。暴露于氯化铜的小龙虾在最低测试剂量（0.6 μg g ^-1）下表现出降低的 GST 活性，而在较高剂量下没有观察到变化。当性别组合在一起时，谷胱甘肽对任何一种金属的反应都没有改变。MT 浓度响应于鳃组织中的锌（2.4、4.6 和 9.6 μg g ^-1剂量）和铜（0.6、0.9 和 1.2 μg g ^{-1剂量）而增加。}在尾部组织中，MT 在 2.4 和 4.8 μg g ^-1增加氯化锌剂量和测试的所有铜浓度。还分析了内源性抗氧化剂表达的性别特异性差异，没有出现明确的模式。我们得出结论，这些端点对信号小龙虾中的锌和铜很敏感，尽管考虑到响应的变化、非单调剂量响应以及不同生物和非生物因素不可避免地存在的差异，在现场研究中应用它们时需要仔细解释。水生生态系统。