Sex inversion in the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis under the influence of heavy metals as one of the reasons for the shift in the sex ratio in the mussel population on the Black Sea coastal zone of Crimea were considered in the work. The present study is the first to directly show that heavy metals can cause females of the mussel M. galloprovincialis to change into males during post-spawning development of gonads. The degree of impact of heavy metals on the sex change in mussel females was different and decreased in the following sequence: Cu²⁺ → Cd²⁺ → Hg²⁺ → Pb²⁺ → Zn²⁺. Copper ions had the greatest effect, which caused a sex inversion in 54 % of females. The heavy metals Hg²⁺ and Pb²⁺ were also quite toxic causing mortality in 13 % and 10 % of individuals, respectively. It is possible to use M. galloprovincialis as a model organism in the study of mechanism of environmental sex reversal in bivalves.

该工作考虑了重金属影响下贻贝Mytilus galloprovincialis的性别倒置是克里米亚黑海沿岸地区贻贝种群性别比例变化的原因之一。本研究首次直接表明重金属可以导致雌性贻贝M. galloprovincialis在性腺产卵后发育过程中转变为雄性。重金属对贻贝雌性性别变化的影响程度不同，依次递减：Cu ²⁺  → Cd ²⁺  → Hg ²⁺  → Pb ²⁺  → Zn ²⁺. 铜离子的影响最大，导致 54% 的女性发生性倒错。重金属 Hg ²⁺和 Pb ²⁺也具有相当大的毒性，分别导致 13% 和 10% 的个体死亡。在双壳类环境性逆转机制的研究中，可以使用M. galloprovincialis作为模式生物。