Molecular association of Cu, Zn, Cd and210Po in the digestive gland of the squidNototodarus gouldi

✍ Scribed by J. M. Finger; J. D. Smith

• Book ID: 104778269
• Publisher: Springer-Verlag
• Year: 1987
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 448 KB
• Volume: 95
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0025-3162
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00447489

✦ Synopsis

The squid Nototodarus gouldt (McCoy, 1888) was caught by bottom trawl in Port Phlllip Bay, Australia in February 1985. The squid accumulates in its digestive gland high levels of trace metals, with up to 110/~g Cd g--1 dry tissue, 1 200 #g g-1 copper and 1 500/~g g--1 zinc and up to 24 Bq g-1 of the naturally occurring radionuclide polonium-210. The molecular binding of these elements in six squid was investigated using column chromatography. Two poorly resolved copper peaks were associated with proteins of average molecular weights of 11 500 and 18 000. The two squid containing the highest levels of cadmium in their digestive glands (44 and 88/~g g-l) had cadmium associated with a peak of molecular weight intermediate between the copper-binding peaks, but this peak was absent from squad containing lower levels of cadmium. Zinc was associated with ligands of less than 1 500 molecular weight. The 21°Po eluted with proteins of greater than 70 000 molecular weight, and there was no evidence of binding to low molecular weight proteins.