The endocrine-disrupting effect and other physiological responses of municipal effluent on the clam Ruditapes decussatus.

In order to document the potential endocrine disrupting and toxic effect of the municipal wastewater effluents discharged into the Sfax coastal area (South of Tunisia), specimens of clam R. decussatus were collected from a reference site and were in vivo exposed to treated sewage effluent for 30 days. To this end, estrogenic and androgenic activities were measured in the gills to assess potential accumulation and regulation of active compounds.

Does a short-term exposure to cadmium chloride affects haemocyte parameters of the marine gastropod Haliotis tuberculata?

In this study, a model based on primary cultured haemocytes from the gastropod mollusc Haliotis tuberculata was established to investigate the effects of cadmium chloride in vitro. Cells were exposed for 24 h to CdCl2 concentrations of 0, 1 and 100 μg ml(-1). The effects of cadmium on haemocyte parameters were investigated using morphological, spectrophotometric and flow cytometry analysis.

Use of metallothioneins as biomarkers for environmental quality assessment in the Gulf of Gabès (Tunisia).

Detection and assessment of the impact of pollution on biological resources imply increasing research on early-warning markers such as metallothioneins (MTs) in metal exposure. In this paper, we have collated published information on the use of metallothioneins and metallothionein-like proteins (MTLPs) as biomarkers for environmental quality assessment in the Gulf of Gabès. In this area, some species of fish and bivalve were used as bioindicators of pollution.