Characterization of acetylcholinesterase and carboxylesterases in the mangrove oyster Crassostrea gasar as biomarkers of exposure to environmental pollutants

Brazil is one of the world's leading consumers of agricultural pesticides, highlighting the urgent need to identify responsive biomarkers as diagnostic and prognostic tools for monitoring aquatic pollution. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and carboxylesterases (CbE) are B-esterases enzymes expressed in several organisms. AChE plays an essential role in neural transmission at cholinergic synapses, while CbE are directly involved in the detoxification of organic pollutants, including organophosphorus pesticides. The activities of AChE and CbE in bivalves have not been extensively investigated, despite their suitability as sentinel organisms for environmental monitoring. In this study, we characterized the activities of AChE and CbE in the mangrove oyster Crassostrea gasar, collected from an estuarine system in southern Brazil. We compared enzymatic activities between the gills and the digestive gland, revealing that CbE activity was significantly higher in the digestive gland, while AChE activity did not differ between the two tissues. These results indicate that the digestive gland functions as the primary metabolic organ in C. gasar. Additionally, we observed notable differences in CbE activity depending on the substrate used: ρ-nitrophenyl acetate (ρNPA), ρ-nitrophenyl butyrate (ρNPB), α-naphtyl acetate (αNA), and α-naphtyl butyrate (αNB). Our findings suggest that more lipophilic substrates are metabolized more rapidly in both the digestive gland and gills. These results enhance our understanding of the biotransformation processes and neurotoxicity potential of pesticides in oysters. However, further in vitro validation is needed to confirm the utility of these biomarkers for monitoring environmental pollution in coastal waters.