The main purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of metal-mediated stress on the protein-synthesis pathway in mussels. To this end, mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) underwent a 15 days exposure to 100 mu g/L Cu2+ or Cd2+. Both metals, in particular Cd2+, accumulated in mussel digestive glands and generated a specific status of oxidative-stress. Exposure of mussels to each metal resulted in 40% decrease of the tRNA-aminoacylation efficiency, at the end of exposure. Cu2+ also caused a progressive loss in the capability of 40S-ribosomal subunits to form 48S pre-initiation complex, which reached 34% of the control at the end of exposure. Other steps of translation underwent less pronounced, but measurable damages. Mussels exposed to Cd2+ for 5 days presented a similar pattern of translational dysfunctions in digestive glands, but during the following days of exposure the ribosomal efficiency was gradually restored. Meanwhile, metallothionein levels significantly increased, suggesting that upon Cd2+-mediated stress the protein-synthesizing activity was reorganized both quantitatively and qualitatively. Conclusively, Cd2+ and Cu2+ affect translation at several levels. However, the pattern of translational responses differs, largely depending on the capability of each metal to affect cytotoxic pathways in the tissues, such as induction of antioxidant defense and specific repair mechanisms. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.