Abstract
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) can be metabolically activated to reactive intermediates with mutagenic potential. Although marine sediments serve as the major repository for PAH released into the environment, little is known of the capabilities of benthic organisms, particularly infaunal invertebrates to metabolize PAH. 1 In this study, in vivo metabolism of of the PAH benz[ a]anthracene (BA) by the polychaete Nereis virens was investigated. Worms maintained in flow-through benthic microcosms were exposed to [ 14C-12]-BA sorbed to sediment, introduced directly to the water column, and in labeled food for periods of 4 to 25 days. Regardless of mode of exposure, most radiolabel recovered from Nereis was present as metabolic products with only 2 to 23% remaining as parent compound. In addition, a significant proportion (from 33 to 51%) of accumulated radioactivity was neither solvent extractable nor water soluble, suggesting that incorporation into macromolecular pools is a major fate of accumulated BA in Nereis virens.
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