Expression profiles of two small heat shock proteins and antioxidant enzyme activity in Mytilus galloprovincialis exposed to cadmium at environmentally relevant concentrations

Small heat shock proteins encompass a widespread but diverse class of proteins,which play key roles in protecting organisms from various stressors.In the present study,the full-length cDNAs of two small heat shock proteins(MgsHSP22 and MgsHSP24.1)were cloned from Mytilus galloprovincialis,which encoded peptides of 181 and 247 amino acids,respectively.Both MgsHSP22 and MgsHSP24.1 were detected in all tissues examined by real-time PCR,with the highest expression being observed in muscle and gonad tissues.The real-time PCR results revealed that Cd signifi cantly inhibited MgsHSP22 expression at 24 h and MgsHSP24.1 at 24 and 48 h under 5 μg/L Cd 2 + exposure.MgsHSP24.1 expression was also signifi cantly inhibited after 50 μg/L Cd 2+ exposure for 48 h.With regard to antioxidant enzymes,increased GPx and CAT activity were detected under Cd 2+ stress(5 and 50 μg/L),while no signifi cant difference in SOD activity was observed throughout the experiment.Overall,both MgsHsps and antioxidant enzymes revealed their potential as Cd stress biomarkers in M.galloprovincialis.     

The influence of salinity on toxicological effects of arsenic in digestive gland of clam Ruditapes philippinarum using metabolomics

Ruditapes philippinarum,a clam that thrives in intertidal zones of various salinities,is a useful biomonitor to marine contaminants.We investigated the influence of dilution to 75% and 50% of normal seawater salinity(31.1) on the responses of the digestive gland of R.philippinarum to arsenic exposure(20 μg/L),using nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR)-based metabolomics.After acute arsenic exposure for 48 h,salinity-dependent differential metabolic responses were detected.In normal seawater,arsenic exposure increased the concentrations of branched-chain amino acids,and of threonine,proline,phosphocholine and adenosine,and it decreased the levels of alanine,hypotaurine,glucose,glycogen and ATP in the digestive glands.Differential changes in metabolic biomarkers observed at lower salinity(～23.3) included elevation of succinate,taurine and ATP,and depletion of branched-chain amino acids,threonine and glutamine.Unique effects of arsenic at the lowest salinity(～15.6) included down-regulation of glutamate,succinate and ADP,and up-regulation of phosphocholine.We conclude that salinity influences the metabolic responses of this clam to arsenic.     

Molecular cloning and differential expression patterns of sigma and omega glutathione S-transferases from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Venerupis philippinarum</Emphasis> to heavy metals and benzo[a]pyrene exposure

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are a class of enzymes that facilitate the detoxification of xenobiotics, and also play important roles in antioxidant defense. We identified two glutathione S-transferase isoforms (VpGSTS, sigma GST; VpGSTO, omega GST) from Venerupis philippinarum by RACE approaches. The open reading frames of VpGSTS and VpGSTO were of 612 bp and 729 bp, encoding 203 and 242 amino acids with an estimated molecular mass of 22.88 and 27.94 kDa, respectively. The expression profiles of VpGSTS and VpGSTO responded to heavy metals and benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) exposure were investigated by quantitative real-time RT-PCR. The expression of VpGSTS and VpGSTO were both rapidly up-regulated, however, they showed differential expression patterns to different toxicants. Cd displayed stronger induction of VpGSTS expression with an approximately 12-fold increase than that of VpGSTO with a maximum 6.4-fold rise. Cu exposure resulted in similar expression patterns for both VpGSTS and VpGSTO. For B[a]P exposure, the maximum induction of VpGSTO was approximately two times higher than that of VpGSTS. Altogether, these findings implied the involvement of VpGSTS and VpGSTO in host antioxidant responses, and highlighted their potential as a biomarker to Cd and B[a]P exposure.     

Manila clam Venerupis philippinarum as a biomonitor to metal pollution

The Manila clam Venerupis philippinarum is a good biomonitor/bioindicator to marine metal pollution and is frequently used in aquatic toxicology. Two dominant pedigrees (white and zebra) of clam are distributed in the Bohai Sea; however, little attention has been paid to potential biological differences between these two pedigrees. In this study, we tested the sensitivity of both pedigrees to marine metal (cadmium and zinc) pollution biomonitoring and marine environmental toxicology. Results demonstrate significant biological differences in gills of white and zebra clams based on metabolic profiles and antioxidant enzyme activities. In addition, we found that hypotaurine, malonate and homarine were relatively high in white clam gills, while alanine, arginine, glutamate, succinate, 4-aminobutyrate, taurine and betaine were high in zebra clam gills. Zebra clam gills were also more sensitive to a mixture of Cd and Zn, as shown by antioxidant enzyme activities and metabolic profiles, but white clam gills could accumulate more Zn. Therefore, we suggest that the white pedigree can be used as a biomonitor to marine Zn pollution, whereas the zebra pedigree can be used for toxicology studies on Cd and Zn mixed pollution.