Integrated biomarker response to assess toxic impacts of iron and manganese on deep-sea mussel Gigantidas platifrons under a deep-sea mining activity scenario

Deep-sea mining activities can potentially release metals,which pose a toxicological threat to deep-sea ecosystems.Nevertheless,due to the remoteness and inaccessibility of the deep-sea biosphere,there is insufficient knowledge about the impact of metal exposure on its inhabitants.In this study,deep-sea mussel Gigantidas platifrons,a commonly used deep-sea toxicology model organism,was exposed to manganese(100,1000μg/L)or iron(500,5000μg/L)for 7 d,respectively.Manganese and iron were chosen for their high levels of occurrence within deep-sea deposits.Metal accumulation and a battery of biochemical biomarkers related to antioxidative stress in superoxide dismutase(SOD),catalase(CAT),malondialdehyde(MDA);immune function in alkaline phosphatase(AKP),acid phosphatase(ACP);and energy metabolism in pyruvate kinase(PK)and hexokinase(HK)were assessed in mussel gills.Results showed that deep-sea mussel G.platifrons exhibited a high capacity to accumulate Mn/Fe.In addition,most tested biochemical parameters were altered by metal exposure,demonstrating that metals could induce oxidative stress,suppress the immune system,and affect energy metabolism of deep-sea mussels.The integrated biomarker response(IBR)approach indicated that the exposure to Mn/Fe had a negative impact on deep-sea mussels,and Mn demonstrated a more harmful impact on deep-sea mussels than Fe.Additionally,SOD and CAT biomarkers had the greatest impact on IBR values in Mn treatments,while ACP and HK were most influential for the low-and high-dose Fe groups,respectively.This study represents the first application of the IBR approach to evaluate the toxicity of metals on deep-sea fauna and serves as a crucial framework for risk assessment of deep-sea mining-associated metal exposure.