Dataset Information

Metallothionein Expression as a Physiological Response against Metal Toxicity in the Striped Rockcod Trematomus hansoni.

ABSTRACT: Metal bioaccumulation and metallothionein (MT) expression were investigated in the gills and liver of the red-blooded Antarctic teleost Trematomus hansoni to evaluate the possibility for this species to face, with adequate physiological responses, an increase of copper and cadmium concentrations in its tissues. Specimens of this Antarctic fish were collected from Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea) and used for a metal exposure experiment in controlled laboratory conditions. The two treatments led to a significant accumulation of both metals and increased gene transcription only for the MT-1. The biosynthesis of MTs was verified especially in specimens exposed to Cd, but most of these proteins were soon oxidized, probably because they were involved in cell protection against oxidative stress risk by scavenging reactive oxygen species. The obtained data highlighted the phenotypic plasticity of T. hansoni, a species that evolved in an environment characterized by naturally high concentrations of Cu and Cd, and maybe the possibility for the Antarctic fish to face the challenges of a world that is becoming more toxic every day.

SUBMITTER: Bakiu R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9657541 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Metallothionein Expression as a Physiological Response against Metal Toxicity in the Striped Rockcod <i>Trematomus hansoni</i>.

Bakiu Rigers R Pacchini Sara S Piva Elisabetta E Schumann Sophia S Tolomeo Anna Maria AM Ferro Diana D Irato Paola P Santovito Gianfranco G

International journal of molecular sciences 20221024 21

Metal bioaccumulation and metallothionein (MT) expression were investigated in the gills and liver of the red-blooded Antarctic teleost <i>Trematomus hansoni</i> to evaluate the possibility for this species to face, with adequate physiological responses, an increase of copper and cadmium concentrations in its tissues. Specimens of this Antarctic fish were collected from Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea) and used for a metal exposure experiment in controlled laboratory conditions. The two treatments led ...[more]

PMID: 36361591

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Project description:Non-vertebrate chordates, specifically amphioxus, are considered of the utmost interest for gaining insight into the evolutionary trends, i.e. differentiation and specialization, of gene/protein systems. In this work, MTs (metallothioneins), the most important metal binding proteins, are characterized for the first time in the cephalochordate subphylum at both gene and protein level, together with the main features defining the amphioxus response to cadmium and copper overload. Two MT genes (BfMT1 and BfMT2) have been identified in a contiguous region of the genome, as well as several ARE (antioxidant response element) and MRE (metal response element) located upstream the transcribed region. Their corresponding cDNAs exhibit identical sequence in the two lancelet species (B. floridae and B. lanceolatum), BfMT2 cDNA resulting from an alternative splicing event. BfMT1 is a polyvalent metal binding peptide that coordinates any of the studied metal ions (Zn, Cd or Cu) rendering complexes stable enough to last in physiological environments, which is fully concordant with the constitutive expression of its gene, and therefore, with a metal homeostasis housekeeping role. On the contrary, BfMT2 exhibits a clear ability to coordinate Cd(II) ions, while it is absolutely unable to fold into stable Cu (I) complexes, even as mixed species. This identifies it as an essential detoxification agent, which is consequently only induced in emergency situations. The cephalochordate MTs are not directly related to vertebrate MTs, neither by gene structure, protein similarity nor metal-binding behavior of the encoded peptides. The closest relative is the echinoderm MT, which confirm proposed phylogenetic relationships between these two groups. The current findings support the existence in most organisms of two types of MTs as for their metal binding preferences, devoted to different biological functions: multivalent MTs for housekeeping roles, and specialized MTs that evolve either as Cd-thioneins or Cu-thioneins, according to the ecophysiological needs of each kind of organisms.

Dataset Information

Metallothionein Expression as a Physiological Response against Metal Toxicity in the Striped Rockcod Trematomus hansoni.

Publications

Metallothionein Expression as a Physiological Response against Metal Toxicity in the Striped Rockcod <i>Trematomus hansoni</i>.

Similar Datasets

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