Project description:Cr(III) is the dominant toxicant at some Superfund sites within the United States and therefore we are interested in its effects. Cr(III)’s mechanisms are not well studied or understood because of its low bioavailability. We have attempted to characterize the effects of Cr(III) on gene expression in the liver of adult male Fundulus heteroclitus. The NOEC and LOEC were determined at 32 and 64mg/L, respectively, by measuring growth after exposing juveniles for 30 days. Secondary exposures were performed with adult males at 32mg/L, livers excised, and RNA extracted. Microarrays were probed with cDNA from untreated or Cr(III)-exposed adult fish and gene expression was quantified. Cr(III) at 32mg/L altered the expression of 5 genes, including GSTalpha, GSTtheta, and ALDH4. Ultimately, we anticipate using this gene expression information to determine whether chromium is available at potentially adverse concentrations in contaminated sites. Keywords: dose response
Project description:Cr(VI) is a common bioavailable toxic metal that can cause oxidative stress, DNA adducts, and perturb normal gene expression. Changes in gene expression are useful biomarkers of toxicant exposure that provide information about the health of an organism, its ability to adapt to its environment, and indicate potential toxicant-specific effects. Therefore, we developed a toxicology array to the estuarine sentinel species Fundulus heteroclitus, or mummichog. Juvenile mummichog were exposed to potassium dichromate for thirty days at concentrations from 0 to 24 mg/L of Cr(VI), and growth was measured to determine the NOEC (1.5 mg/L or 0.0288 mM) and LOEC (3 mg/L or 0.0577 mM). Body burdens from Cr(VI) exposed fish demonstrated a dose dependent increase and were inversely correlated to body weight. Cr(VI)-exposed juvenile mummichog differentially expressed greater than 20 genes in a dose-dependent manner, including hepatic glucose transporter 2, liver fatty acid binding protein, ATPase synthase 8, type II keratin, TBT binding protein, and complement component C3-2. Many of these genes are involved in energy metabolism or growth, which is consistent with the reduced growth caused by Cr(VI). Keywords: dose response
Project description:Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) is a highly toxic contaminant, some bacteria are able to transform it to less toxic and less soluble trivalent chromium (Cr(III)). Klebsiella sp. strain AqSCr, isolated from Cr(VI)-polluted groundwater, reduces Cr(VI) both aerobically and anaerobically, and resists up 35 mM of Cr(VI); Subculturing of AqSCr in the presence of Cr(VI) conduces to adaptation. In this study, we performed RNA-Seq of Cr(VI) adapted stage, finding 255 genes upregulated and 240 downregulated with respect to controls without Cr(VI). Genes differentially expressed are mostly associated with oxidative stress response, DNA repair and replication, sulfur starvation response, envelope-osmotic stress response, fatty acid metabolism, ribosomal subunits and energy metabolism. Among them, genes not previously associated with chromium resistance as cybB, encoding a putative superoxide oxidase, gltA2, encoding an alternative citrate synthase, and des, encoding a fatty acid desaturase were upregulated. The alternative sigma factors fecl, rpoE and rpoS were upredgulated in Cr(VI) adapted cells, then they participate in orchestate the Cr(VI)-resistance mechanisms in AqSCr strain
Project description:Detailed analysis of genome-wide transcriptome profiling in rice root is reported here, following Cr-plant interaction. Such studies are important for the identification of genes responsible for tolerance, accumulation and defense response in plants with respect to Cr stress. Rice root metabolome analysis was also carried out to relate differential transcriptome data to biological processes affected by Cr (VI) stress in rice.