ABSTRACT: Many enigmas surround different aspects of freshwater eel biology and life cycle. In the same way different hypothesis about why eels are disappearing from European continental waters have been proposed. One such proposal defends that poor fat accumulation of eels, due to pollution in continental waters, might be stopping eels from reproductive migration to the Sargasso Sea. Thus, habitat deterioration could be blamed for the decline in the catchment potential of the European rivers. In this context, and with the aim to study the mode of action of environmentally relevant chemicals in eels, the multi tissue transcriptome was sequenced (454 Titanium Roche) in order to design a high density custom oligonucleotide microarray (eArray, Agilent). To validate this tool a laboratory experiment was carried to analyze the gene trasncrition profiles related to chemical compounds released from pulp and paper mills; 100 μg/L mercury and 150 μg/L β-sitosterol (only Hg data is presented here). 20 yellow European eel (Anguilla anguilla) elvers (11.7±5.35 g) obtained from a local farm (Acuivas SL, Usurbil, Gipuzkoa) were exposed for 3, 6 and 9 days. Pyrosequencing allowed the design and construction of a 60K microarray platform containing 3923 gene signatures identified through BlastN analysis and 7212 sequences annotated through BlastX coupled to Blast2Go analysis. Additional 226 sequences were incorporated from NCBI databases and 3551 from the information available in EeelBase in 2011. Two probes were generated per sequence and they were spotted twice in the array. Hepatic gene expression profiling of the exposed eels indicated that Hg significantly down-regulated (LIMMA, adj. p<0.005) only gene signatures related to selenoprotein W-1 (SeW), something typically described in mammals exposed to methyl-mercury. Increasing the adj. p value to <0.05, 116 genes were significantly regulated (38 down-regulated and 79 up-regulated). Among them, we found additional selenoproteins such as ROS metabolism related genes; glutathione peroxidases (gpx1 & gpx4b) and thioredoxine which were up-regulated. In addition, complement system genes (C3 & C4b) were also up-regulated. Studying enriched Go pathways (p<0.005) and in relation with lipid homeostasis we observed that the following pathways were enriched after exposure to Hg: fatty acids degradation and metabolism of arachidonic acid, linoleic acid, ether lipids, alpha linolenic acid, and glycerophospholipids. In addition, among the top 10 significantly enriched KEGG pathways, p53 signalling, apoptosis, and MAPK signalling were present, suggesting possible effects on cell cycle regulation. In summary, transcriptome pyrosequencing and subsequently designed microarray provided the molecular tools to successfully study the gene transcription profiles of toxic chemical compounds such as Hg in European eel tissues. In addition to study the molecular modes of action of specific chemical compounds, the developed gene expression microarray will be useful in active monitoring of the quality of freshwater environments using caged sentinel eels. This study was funded by Basque Government (SAIOTEK S-PE09UN32; Consolidated Research Groups IT810-13) and UPV/EHU (UFI 11/37). Technical and human support provided by SGIker (UPV/EHU) is acknowledged. An exposure laboratory experiment was performed in the âUr Biologia eta Experimentazio Zerbitzuaâ (UBEZ) of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) A total of 84 eels, 20.23 ± 2.84 cm in length, were acclimatized to laboratory conditions for 2 weeks in a 10 L water glass tanks under controlled conditions: 12 h light/dark cycle at 18oC, conductivity 600 μS. During this period animals were fed with commercial flakes. Ammonium, nitrites and nitrates kits (Sera GmbH) were used to systematically asses the levels of nitrogenous compounds which were maintained at 0-0.5mg/l; 0-0.5 mg/l, and 5-10 mg/l, respectively. When highest concentrations within those ranges were achieved seawater was partially replaced. A day before exposure experiment, animals were placed in 4 aquaria with 8 L of water at 600 μS. In each aquarium 21 eels were randomly distributed and exposed to: metal-mercury (Hg) (Fluka-Sigma-Aldrich) at a concentration of 100μg/L; and to a phitosterol, β-sitosterol (Sigma) at a concentration of 150 μg/ L. The last compound needed ethanol (0.01%) as vehicle. In addition to an ethanol control group, a water control (600μS) without contaminant was also prepared. Water used during the experiment was filtered at 0.5mm and treated with UV light. Toxic metabolites were measured everyday during experiment using ammonium, nitrites and nitrates test (Sera GmbH), and water was partially replaced every day. Eels were fed everyday with 10mg of commercial food per eel. After 3, 6 and 9 days exposure (T1, T2 and T3 respectively) 7 eels were anaesthetized with 3-aminobenzoate methylsulfonate salt (Sigma-Aldrich). Size and weight were measured for Fulton´s conditioning index assessments, and liver was dissected and frozen with RNA later® in liquid nitrogen for molecular studies.
