Vitellogenin and Lipovitellin from the prawn Macrobrachium borellii as hydrocarbon pollution biomarker

Garcı́a, Carlos; Heras, Horacio

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.05.027

Cited by 9 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Scientists have also developed and utilised Vtg as a biomarker to determine whether feminisation and/or reproductive endocrine disruption is occurring in invertebrates (Matozzo et al, 2008;Simon et al, 2010;Jubeaux et al, 2012a;Jubeaux et al, 2012b). Such studies have included a diverse range of crustaceans, such as Daphnia, mysids, amphipods, crabs, crayfish, lobsters and various shrimps and prawns (Fainzilber et al, 1992;Lee and Noone, 1994;Sagi et al, 1999;Tsutsui et al, 2000;Allen et al, 2002;Tsang et al, 2003;Ghekiere et al, 2004;Volz and Chandler, 2004;Ghekiere et al, 2005;Mak et al, 2005;Sanders et al, 2005;Zapata-Perez et al, 2005;Ghekiere et al, 2006;Raviv et al, 2006;Simon et al, 2010;Hannas et al, 2011;Xuereb et al, 2011;García, and Heras, 2012;Jubeaux et al, 2012b;Jubeaux et al, 2012c). Many of these studies measure Vtg or Vtg-like protein levels or the induction of Vtg genes in crustaceans following exposure to environmental contaminants in both the field and laboratory.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vitellogenin is not an appropriate biomarker of feminisation in a Crustacean

Short¹,

Yang²,

Kille³

et al. 2014

Aquatic Toxicology

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The expression of the yolk protein vitellogenin (Vtg) has been used as a biomarker of feminisation in multiple fish species throughout the world. Since the late 1990s, researchers have attempted to develop similar biomarkers to address whether reproductive endocrine disruption also occurs in the males of invertebrate groups such as the Crustacea. To date, the vast majority of studies investigating Vtg induction in male Crustacea have resulted in negative or inconclusive results, leading researchers to question the utility of Vtg expression as a biomarker in this taxon. This study measured the expression of Vtg genes in two intersex phenotypes (termed internal and external) found in the male amphipod, Echinogammarus marinus, and compared them with those of normal males and females. Males presenting the external intersex phenotype are infected with known feminising parasites and display a variety of feminised traits including oviduct structures on their testes and external female brood plates (oostegites). The internal intersex male phenotype, that displays a pronounced oviduct structure on the testes without the external intersex characteristics, is not parasite infected and it is thought to be a result of environmental contamination. Given their morphology, these phenotypes might be considered highly 'feminised' or 'de-masculinised' and can be utilised to test the suitability of feminisation biomarkers. The E. marinus transcriptome was searched for genes resembling Vtg and two sequences were revealed, that we subsequently refer to as Vtg1 and Vtg2. Results from a high-throughput transcriptomic sequencing screen of gonadal cDNA libraries suggested that very low expression (in this manuscript gene transcription is taken to represent gene expression, although it is acknowledged that in addition to transcription, translation, transcript processing, mRNA stability and protein stability can regulate gene expression) of Vtg1 and Vtg2 in normal males (ESTs=1 and 0 for Vtg1 and Vtg2, respectively), internal intersex males (ESTs=0 for both Vtg sequences) and external intersex males (ESTs=5 and 0 for Vtg1 and Vtg2, respectively). In contrast, the sequencing suggested notable levels of expression of both Vtg genes in females (ESTs=1133 and 84 for Vtg1 and Vtg2, respectively). Subsequent qPCR analysis validates these expression levels, with the signal for Vtg1 and Vtg2 transcripts in all male phenotypes being indistinguishable from that caused by contamination of trace levels of genomic DNA or the low-level amplification non-target sequences. These findings suggest that Vtg expression is not notably induced in highly feminised amphipods and is therefore not an appropriate biomarker of feminisation/de-masculination in crustaceans. We discuss our findings in the context of previous attempts to measure Vtg in male crustaceans and suggest a requirement for more appropriate taxon-specific biomarkers to monitor feminisation in these groups.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vitellogenin is not an appropriate biomarker of feminisation in a Crustacean

Short¹,

Yang²,

Kille³

et al. 2014

Aquatic Toxicology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…One such species, representative of the benthic community of the Plata River area, is the autochthonous freshwater prawn Macrobrachium borellii selected for the present study. Previous studies on the metabolic alteration by freshwater hydrocarbon pollution in crustaceans have mostly been performed using this prawn as a non-model organism, and have shown that sublethal WSF exposure affects lipid anabolism and catabolism, biological membranes fluidity, increase on vitellogenins and induce M. borellii antioxidant defense system (Lavarías et al, 2005(Lavarías et al, , 2006(Lavarías et al, , 2007(Lavarías et al, , 2011Garcia and Heras, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%