Biomarkers of general stress in mussels as common indicators for marine biomonitoring programmes in Europe: The ICON experience

•Biomarkers of general stress (LMS, SoS) in mussels across Europe were analysed.•LMS and SoS responses reflected chemical stress in wild and caged mussels.•LMS and SoS biomarkers can be jointly applied throughout European waters.•Assessment of SoS responses should consider mussel size and subregion of origin.

This study investigated whether general stress biomarkers in mussels can be applied as common first-tier biomarkers in regional biomonitoring programmes in the North Sea (including Iceland) and western Mediterranean Sea. Stress on Stress (SoS) and lysosomal membrane stability (LMS) biomarkers were analysed in resident mussels (Mytilus sp.) from 8 coastal sites and in transplanted mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from two Spanish Mediterranean coastal sites. The assessment of results, as input to pollution monitoring strategies, was performed jointly for LMS and SoS data from the two regions. Contaminant body burden of the mussels was compared with biomarker results. The results demonstrated that these two general and non-expensive stress biomarkers in mussel can be applied throughout European waters, providing a cost-effective and harmonised approach to screen contaminant-related biological effects within the framework of wide-scale pollution biomonitoring programmes, such as that proposed by the European Union, i.e. the Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

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