Evaluation of tissue morphology and gene expression as biomarkers of pollution in mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis caging experiment

Abstract

The ecosystem is being anthropogenically disturbed, which has serious consequences for the environment and human health, having strong social and economic impacts on the community. One of the most common methods to evaluate the effects of toxic contaminants is based on biomonitoring, e.g., placing Mytilus galloprovincialis in the polluted areas investigated. In this study, we have combined two different methods, transcriptomic and morphological analysis, with the purpose of determining whether cell morphology and the ultrastructural organization of our animal model are related to gene expression in outdoor experiments. The most pronounced changes were observed in mussel gills and digestive gland for mRNA involved in protein machinery (18S, 28S and EF1), while HSP70, MT10, CYP4Y1, SOD1, and CAT mRNAs showed scattered modifications not related to the studied area. In agreement with 18S, 28S, and EF1 mRNA evaluation, optical and electron microscopy demonstrated an initial inflammatory response of the cells that can lead to apoptosis in the caged mussels in all the polluted areas. In conclusion, the application of a multi-disciplinary approach proved to be effective for assessing the biological effects of contaminations on the health of aquatic organisms, and thus suitable to be applied in eco-toxicological studies. Although affected by several uncontrolled environmental variables, the assessment of mRNA can represent a useful endpoint for an integrated estimation of the overall threats to the sea environment within a field research approach.

Oxidative Damage of Mussels Living in Seawater Enriched with Trace Metals, from the Viewpoint of Proteins Expression and Modification

“…We found that a long exposure of mussels to metals caused a decrease in eEF1A1 levels, except for the exposure to Cd, where eEF1A1 levels reverted to the control ones. This agrees with previous studies that found a downregulation of the eEF1A1 gene in yeast [51], fish Pinephalespromelas [70], and M. galloprovincialis [30], which was challenged by metals. Peptide bond formation leaves a deacylated tRNA in the P-site and a newly formed peptidyl-tRNA in the A-site.…”

“…The toxicity is also correlated with gene expression and regulation. Alterations in gene expression under oxidative stress have been extensively analyzed in mollusks through RNA profiling techniques, microarrays, and RNA sequencing [28][29][30][31][32].Moreover, translational regulation generally contributes to quick responses related to the maintenance of proteome homeostasis, in contrast to transcriptional regulation that is mostly associated with long-term changes in cell physiology [33][34][35]. It has been also recognized that the molecular mechanisms underlying the metal toxicity on translation are associated with the vulnerability of the ribosomal components to oxidative damage [10,[36][37][38][39].…”

Oxidative Damage of Mussels Living in Seawater Enriched with Trace Metals, from the Viewpoint of Proteins Expression and Modification

“…Pinephales promelas [70] and M. galloprovincialis [30], challenged by metals. Peptide bond formation leaves a deacylated tRNA in the P-site and a newly formed peptidyl-tRNA in the A-site.…”

Multiple gene expression profiling suggests epithelial dysfunction in polypoid chronic rhinosinusitis

“…Specific primers were designed using the Beacon Designer Program (BioRad, Italy) within the sequences of the genes shown in Table II. Each reaction was performed according to Rossi et al 6 . Briefly, 7.5 μl of SYBR Green Supermix (2x), 1 μl of forward and reverse primers (6 μM), 5 ng of cDNA and water to a final volume of 15 μl were mixed and run in a CFX 96 Thermocycler (BioRad, Italy).…”