Free Cupric Ion Activity in Seawater: Effects on Metallothionein and Growth in Crab Larvae
BRENDA M. SANDERS 1,
KENNETH D. JENKINS 2,
WILLIAM G. SUNDA 3, and
JOHN D. COSTLOW 4
1 Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, North Carolina 28516
2 Molecular Ecology Institute and Department of Biology, California State University, Long Beach 90840
3 National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Southeast Fisheries Center, Beaufort Laboratory, Beaufort, North Carolina 28516
4 Duke University Marine Laboratory
Crab zoeae (Rhithropanopeus harrisii) were exposed during their development opment to a range of free cupric ion activities regulated in seawater by use of a copper chelate buffer system. Most cytosolic copper was found to be associated with metallothionein. Copper-thionein could be related to free cupric ion activity, and a shift in copper-thionein accumulation was correlated with inhibition of larval growth. These data reveal predictable relations between cupric ion activity in seawater and processes at the cellular and organismic levels.
Submitted on March 7, 1983
Revised on May 27, 1983
