Subcellular distribution of major and minor elements in unexposed molluscs in Western norway—II. The distribution and binding of cadmium, zinc, copper, magnesium, manganese and iron in the kidney and the digestive system of the common mussel Mytilus edulis

Abstract

1. 1. The subcellular distribution of Cd, Zn, Cu, Mg, Mn and Fe has been studied in the kidney and the digestive system of the common mussel M. edulis. While Mg showed almost opposite locations, only minor differences could be seen for Zn, Cu, Mn, Fe and Cd when the two organs were compared. 2. 2. More than 50% of cytosol Cd from both tissues were recovered in the macromolecular fractions (void volume) during gel filtration on Sephadex G-75. In addition, both tissues contained Cd-binders with mol. wts in the range of 13,000–21,000. 3. 3. It is concluded that a common pattern for distribution and element handling could not be seen within the tissues examined.