Metalloproteinase activity in the hemolymph of hydrothermal vent mussel Bathymodiolus azoricus

Martins, I.; Company, Rui; Cerqueira, T.; Bebianno, Maria João; Santos, R.S.; Bettencourt, R.

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/13776

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The extreme conditions present at the hydrothermal vent ecosystems such as, high temperature and pressure, high concentrations of trace metals, toxic gases such as methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) could apparently be deleterious to the aerobic organisms. However, B. azoricus developed physiological strategies to cope with such inhospitable environment being the most successful and widespread species in the Mid Atlantic Ridge hydrothermal vents. Such remarkable adaptive response to environmental stressors must represent readjustments on normal biochemical reactions in order to maintain the integrity of cell function and metabolism. In bivalve molluscs, hemolymph and the circulating cells hemocytes, forms a primary line of defense against infectious agents and cellular stressful factors.