Effects of Copper and Cadmium Exposure on mRNA Expression of Catalase, Glutamine Synthetase, Cytochrome P450 and Heat Shock Protein 70 in Tambaqui Fish (Colossoma Macropomum)

Abstract

Abstract:In this work the authors evaluated the expression of cat, glu, cypP450, hsp70 and 18S RNA in Colossoma macropomum following exposure to copper and cadmium by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and quantitative qRT-PCR. In RT-PCR and qRT-PCR hsp70 expression was highest after exposure to copper for 3 hours (h). glu expression increased after exposure to cadmium, regardless of time. cat expression increased after the first hour of exposure to both metals, and decreased after 3 hs. cyp450 expression was higher when compared to controls in exposed fish regardless of metal and exposure time. cyp450 expression after exposure to copper for 3 h was twice that recorded after 1 h. In the presence of cadmium, cyp450 expression was higher in the animals exposed for 1 h and lower at 3 h. Therefore, toxicology tests and biomonitoring based on molecular markers should focus on a set of molecular and/or environmental parameters, rather than isolated markers.