Biomarkers of Environmental Marine Pollution for Nutrient, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point Process along Calabrian Coasts

This paper presents an overview of the signi cance of the use of molecular biomarkers as diagnostic and prognostic tools for marine pollution monitoring, useful for NACCP process. Furthermore, biomarkers, inside the most recent laws in this sector (Directive 2000/60/EC, Lgs. D. 152/06 and i.s.m.), can be widely used in an integrated evaluation system of the marine environment quality. Among the various types of biomarkers, the following have received particular attention, because of their peculiar responsiveness, as extensively reported in literature: metallothioneins (MT10, MT20) expression, acetylcholinester- ase activity and cytochrome CYP1A1/P450 induction. These biomarkers are being used to evaluate exposure of mussels, a sentinel marine organism, to the effect of various contaminants (organic xenobiotics and metals) using different molecular ap- proaches (biochemical assays, uorimetric measurement, poly- merase chain reaction). The selected biomarkers indicate that the organism has been exposed to pollutants (exposure biomarkers) and that the magnitude of the organism's response is proportion- al to the pollutant's levels (effect biomarkers or biomarkers of stress).