Effect of mercury contamination on the hepatopancreas ultrastructure of Armadillo officinalis Duméril, 1816 (Crustacea, Isopoda).

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of substrate contamination by mercury on the hepatopancreasof the Crustacean species; Armadillo officinalis Duméril, 1816 . Uncontaminated specimens were collected from the  banks of Ghar El Melh lagoon then exposed for three weeks to three concentrations of mercury  salt solution. After the   end of the  exposure, the hepatopancreas unexposed and exposed animals were compared to detect histological changes. Transmission Electron Microscopy observations showed that the hepatopancreas of Hg-exposed animals showed morphological and histological changes compared with control animals even at the lowest concentration. the degree of these alterations was found to be dose-dependent. the global predominant features were: microvillus border disruption, condensation of some cytoplasm areas and of  chromatin, rough endoplasmic reticulum and mitochondrial alterations, lipid droplets modifications in addition to the increasing number of B-granules in the B and S cells.