Peculiarities of Low Concentrations of Heavy Metal Ions' Effect on β-Carotene Content in Lymnaea stagnalis

Abstract

The article deals with influence of heavy metal ions (cadmium, zinc, copper, lead, chromium, manganese and nickel) on β-carotene content in hemolymph, hepatopancreas, mantle and foot of <i>Lymnaea stagnalis</i>. Its content dynamics was non-linear, owing to nature and specificity of the ions' effects, the exposure time and metabolic features of the organs and tissues. Over the two-day exposure, the impact Cr<sup>3+</sup>, Mn<sup>2+</sup>, Cu<sup>2+</sup>, Ni<sup>2+</sup> and Cd<sup>2+</sup> ions resulted in increase of β-carotene content in the <i>L. stagnalis'</i> hemolymph, indicating development of the immediate response to the toxic effects aimed at homeostasis. The Cr<sup>3+</sup> impact caused its growth in hepatopancreas, mantle, and foot. The β-carotene content dynamics under the impact of all studied ions was organ-specific. Over the fourteen-day exposure, the suppressive effect of Mn<sup>2+</sup>, Cu<sup>2+</sup>, Ni<sup>2+</sup>, Cd<sup>2+</sup>, Cr<sup>3+</sup> and Zn<sup>2+</sup> on the <i>L. stagnalis</i> metabolism increased, expressed in decrease of β-carotene content by 12.2-66.9%, except in hemolymph where under the impact of Cr<sup>3+</sup> it increased 3.2 times, and in foot where under the impact of Ni<sup>2+</sup> it remained at the control level. The hierarchical cluster analysis enabled to reveal regularities of HM ions impact on β-carotene content in hemolymph, hepatopancreas, mantle and foot of <i>L. stagnalis</i>.