Mercury binding proteins in liver and muscle of flat fish from the northern Tyrrhenian sea

Abstract

1. The subcellular distribution of mercury and possible presence of Hg binding proteins of low molecular weight were investigated by ultracentrifugation and gel filtration in liver and muscle of the flat fish Citharus linguatula and Lepidorhombus boscii from the northern Tyrrhenian sea, heavily contaminated by the metal. 2. For both tissues, Hg contents were higher in the pellet than in the supernatant. 3. In the eluate of supernatant from Sephadex G-75 of both tissues, Hg was mainly bound to high molecular weight ligands. 4. Differently from the muscle eluate, that from liver also contained a consistent amount of Hg bound to low molecular weight ligands.