Abstract: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs)endanger the health of human beings through the food chain due to accumulation in aquatic organisms.Some polychaetes have been known to accumulate and metabolise certain PAHs.The activity and gene expression level of metabolic enzymes and antioxidant enzymes in polychaetes have been reported as a good indication in PAHs monitoring in water.However,the metabolic mechanism in polychaetes is still unclear.The toxicity and metabolism of PAHs in polychaetes are summarized in the current paper,and the metabolism of PAHs in marine polychaetes was found to be similar to that in vertebrates,which includes two phases.In phase I,cytochrome P450 enzymes play an important role and uridine diphosphoglucuronyl transferase and sulfotransferase enzymes are considered to be the main enzymes in phaseⅡin polychaetes.Since there are some problems in the current research,the toxic effect of compound PAHs and low doses of PAHs in long exposure in polychaetes should be further investigated,especially the metabolism of different PAHs in polychaetes.
2017, Vol. 32 
