Metabolomics,Unknown,Transcriptomics,Genomics,Proteomics

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Transcriptional responses in Enchytraeus albidus (Oligochaeta): comparison between cadmium and zinc exposure and linkage to reproduction effects

ABSTRACT: Metal ecotoxicity on soil organisms, e.g. in Enchytraeids (also known as potworms), has been addressed mainly by assessing effects on survival and reproduction but very little is known about the molecular underlying mechanisms of responses. The main purpose of the present study was to assess and compare the transcriptional responses of Enchytraeus albidus to an essential (zinc) and a non-essential metal (cadmium). Exposure was performed to two concentrations of known effect on reproduction (EC50, EC90) at three time periods (2, 4 and 8 days). Results showed that transcriptional responses were influenced by exposure duration but, independently of that, the mechanisms of response to Cd and Zn were consistently different. Both metals affected pathways related with the regulation of gene expression, calcium homeostasis and cellular respiration. Mechanisms of toxicity that were exclusively associated with Cd exposures were the inhibition of DNA repair and the impairment of ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis. The microarray for E. albidus was a useful tool to detect molecular pathways affected by metal exposures. Transcriptional responses strongly correlated with known mechanisms of Cd and Zn responses in other organisms, suggesting cross-species conserved mechanisms of action. It should be highlighted that we could not only retrieve mechanistic information, but also that genes responded within 2-8 days of exposure. This represents an additional advantage of using such molecular endpoints as a complement to the traditional, more time-consuming endpoints. Gene expression in E.albidus was measured at 2, 4, and 8 days after exposure to Cadmium and Zinc at 2 concentrations of effect on reprocduction (EC50 and EC90). Three biological replicates per exposure treatment in each time point and 4 biological replicates of control conditions were used.

ORGANISM(S): Enchytraeus albidus

SUBMITTER: Sara Novais

PROVIDER: E-GEOD-33944 | biostudies-arrayexpress |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress

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Project description:Thermococcus gammatolerans, the most radioresistant archaeon known to date, is an anaerobic and hyperthermophilic sulfur-reducing organism living in deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Knowledge of mechanisms underlying archaeal metal tolerance in such metal-rich ecosystem is still poorly documented. We showed that T. gammatolerans exhibits high resistance to cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co) and zinc (Zn), a weaker tolerance to nickel (Ni), copper (Cu) and arsenate (AsO4) and that cells exposed to 1mM Cd exhibit a cellular Cd concentration of 67µM. A time-dependent transcriptomic analysis using microarrays was performed at a non-toxic (100μM) and a toxic (1mM) Cd dose. The reliability of microarray data was strengthened by real time RT-PCR validations. Altogether, 114 Cd responsive genes were revealed and a substantial subset of genes is related to metal homeostasis, drug detoxification, re-oxidization of cofactors and ATP production. This first genome-wide expression profiling study of archaeal cells challenged with Cd showed that T. gammatolerans withstands induced stress through pathways observed in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes but also through new and original strategies. T. gammatolerans cells challenged with 1mM Cd basically promote: 1) the induction of several transporter/permease encoding genes, probably to detoxify the cell; 2) the upregulation of Fe transporters encoding genes to likely compensate Cd damages in iron-containing proteins; 3) the induction of membrane-bound hydrogenase (Mbh) and membrane-bound hydrogenlyase (Mhy2) subunits encoding genes involved in recycling reduced cofactors and/or in proton translocation for energy production. By contrast to other organisms, redox homeostasis genes appear constitutively expressed and only a few genes encoding DNA repair proteins are regulated. We compared the expression of 27 Cd responsive genes in other stress conditions (Zn, Ni, heat shock, γ-rays), and showed that the Cd transcriptional pattern is comparable to other metal stress transcriptional responses (Cd, Zn, Ni) but not to a general stress response.

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Transcriptional responses in Enchytraeus albidus (Oligochaeta): comparison between cadmium and zinc exposure and linkage to reproduction effects

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