A seasonal survey of the sterol composition of the cockle cerastoderma edule: A comparison of polluted and non-polluted environments |
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| Authors: | James A Ballantine Angela Lavis Robert J Morris |
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| Institution: | Department of Chemistry, Institute of Marine Studies, University College of Swansea, Swansea, Wales, Great Britain;Institute for Oceanographic Sciences, Brock Road, Wormley, Godalming, Surrey SU8 5B, Great Britain |
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| Abstract: | The sterol composition of a cockle population from an unpolluted environment in South Wales was monitored by monthly sampling over a 12-month period. In spite of the likely variation in dietary sterols during this period, the component sterols of the cockles showed no significant seasonal variation, indicating that the cockle was able to exhibit a high degree of control over the composition of its functional sterols.Dramatic differences were observed in the sterol compositions of a nearby cockle population from a highly polluted environment, near a sewage outfall; only three out of the ten sterols present were common to the unpolluted cockles. Forty-five per cent of the sterols from the ‘polluted’ samples contained fully reduced systems and included three new alkylated C-29, C-30 and C-31 stanols. It is considered possible that these structural changes may affect the stereochemistry of the functional sterols and hence alter the permeability of the animal's membranes. This may reflect a biochemical response to the polluted environment. |
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