Identification and organ-specific patterns of expression of two metallothioneins in the sentinel species Gammarus fossarum

In this study, we identified two metallothionein-coding transcripts, mt1 and mt2, in the transcriptome of the amphipod Gammarus fossarum, a sentinel species widely used to assess the quality of watersheds. For the first time, we investigated the organ-specific patterns of expression of these two mt transcripts at the individual level in the gills and the caeca of this small crustacean. In silico analysis and experimental exposures to environmentally relevant concentrations of cadmium, zinc and silver showed that G. fossarum mt1 induction is stronger after Cd exposure compared to the other tested metals. G. fossarum mt1 was more significantly induced in the caeca than in the gills of exposed organisms for any metal exposure, while G. fossarum mt2 was, at least at the individual level, more inducible in the gills than in the caeca of G. fossarum exposed to Cd and Zn. Our results provide new genetic resources that will help to improve the understanding of metal homeostasis in this sentinel species.PMID:37827361 | DOI:10.1016/j.cbpb.2023.110907

Source: Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part B, Biochemistry and molecular biology. - October 12, 2023 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Davide Degli Esposti Aur éline Lalouette Karen Gaget Louveline Lepeule Zineb Chaabi Maxime Lepr être Anabelle Espeyte Nicolas Delorme Herv é Quéau Laura Garnero Federica Calevro Arnaud Chaumot Olivier Geffard Source Type: research