Project description:A functional microarray targeting 24 genes involved in chlorinated solvent biodegradation pathways has been developed and used to monitor the gene diversity present in four trichloroethylene (TCE) contaminated sites under ERD (enhanced reductive dechlorination) treatment. The microarray format provided by NimbleGen and used in this study is 12x135K. 2 µg of labelled gDNA from 30 groundwater samples were hybridized on the microarrays.
Project description:Occupational and environmental exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has been suggested to provoke inflammatory and/or allergic disorders including asthma, rhinitis and dermatitis. The molecular mechanisms of this PAH-mediated inflammation remain to be clarified. Previous studies implied the involvement of PAHs as irritants and allergens, with the reactive oxygen species generated from the oxygenated PAHs believed to be an exacerbating factor. As well, the possibility exists that PAHs contribute to the pathogenesis through activation of aryl-hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)-mediated transcription, since PAHs are potent inducers of the AhR. To address this point, we generated transgenic mouse lines expressing the constitutive active form of the AhR in keratinocytes. In these lines of mice, the AhR activity was constitutively enhanced in the absence of ligands, so that any other direct effects of PAHs and their metabolites could be ignored. At birth, these transgenic mice were normal, but severe skin lesions with itching developed postnatally. The skin lesions were accompanied by inflammation and immunological imbalance and resembled typical atopic dermatitis. Our present study demonstrates that constitutive activation of the AhR pathway causes inflammatory skin lesions and suggests a new mechanism for the exacerbation of inflammatory diseases following exposure to occupational and environmental xenobiotics. Keywords: transcriptional activation
Project description:Occupational and environmental exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has been suggested to provoke inflammatory and/or allergic disorders including asthma, rhinitis and dermatitis. The molecular mechanisms of this PAH-mediated inflammation remain to be clarified. Previous studies implied the involvement of PAHs as irritants and allergens, with the reactive oxygen species generated from the oxygenated PAHs believed to be an exacerbating factor. As well, the possibility exists that PAHs contribute to the pathogenesis through activation of aryl-hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)-mediated transcription, since PAHs are potent inducers of the AhR. To address this point, we generated transgenic mouse lines expressing the constitutive active form of the AhR in keratinocytes. In these lines of mice, the AhR activity was constitutively enhanced in the absence of ligands, so that any other direct effects of PAHs and their metabolites could be ignored. At birth, these transgenic mice were normal, but severe skin lesions with itching developed postnatally. The skin lesions were accompanied by inflammation and immunological imbalance and resembled typical atopic dermatitis. Our present study demonstrates that constitutive activation of the AhR pathway causes inflammatory skin lesions and suggests a new mechanism for the exacerbation of inflammatory diseases following exposure to occupational and environmental xenobiotics. Experiment Overall Design: transgenic mice expressing constitutive active form of AhR in keratinocytes vs. non-transgenic mice (wild type littermates)
Project description:Salinity stress is a major problem affecting plant growth and crop productivity. While plant biostimulants have been reported to be an effective solution to tackle salinity stress in different crops, the key genes and metabolic pathways involved in these tolerance processes remain unclear. This study focused on integrating phenotypic, physiological, biochemical and transcriptome data obtained from different tissues of Solanum lycopersicum L. plants (cv. Micro-Tom) subjected to a saline irrigation water program for 61 days (EC: 5.8 dS/m) and treated with a combination of protein hydrolysate and Ascophyllum nodosum-derived biostimulant, namely PSI-475. The biostimulant application was associated with the maintenance of higher K+/Na+ ratios in both young leaf and root tissue and the overexpression of transporter genes related to ion homeostasis (e.g., NHX4, HKT1;2). A more efficient osmotic adjustment was characterized by a significant increase in relative water content (RWC), which most likely was associated with osmolyte accumulation and upregulation of genes related to aquaporins (e.g., PIP2.1, TIP2.1). A higher content of photosynthetic pigments (+19.8% to +27.5%), increased expression of genes involved in photosynthetic efficiency and chlorophyll biosynthesis (e.g., LHC, PORC) and enhanced primary carbon and nitrogen metabolic mechanisms were observed, leading to a higher fruit yield and fruit number (47.5% and 32.5%, respectively). Overall, it can be concluded that the precision engineered PSI-475 biostimulant can provide long-term protective effects on salinity stressed tomato plants through a well-defined mode of action in different plant tissues.
Project description:Oil spills have polluted the marine environment for decades and continue to be a major source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to marine ecosystems around the globe. Although the toxicity of PAHs to fish has been well studied, the combined effects of extreme abiotic factors and oil are poorly understood. Gulf of Mexico killifish Fundulus grandis larvae (< 24 hours post hatch) were exposed to varying environmental conditions (dissolved oxygen 2, 6 ppm; temperature 20, 25, 30°C; and salinity 3, 10, 30 ppt) combined with varying concentrations of high energy water accommodated fractions (HEWAF) (total PAHs 0 – ~ 125 ppb) for a total of 48 h. Larvae survival and development were negatively affected by PAHs, starting with the lowest concentration tested (~15 ppb). High temperature + hypoxia + PAHs resulted in the lowest survival with salinity having little impact on any of the endpoints tested. Expression of the hepatic detoxifying gene cyp1a was highly induced in PAH-exposed larvae, but only under normoxic conditions. A lack of cyp1a induction under hypoxia and PAH exposure could explain the enhanced toxicity observed. This work highlights the need for more studies examining the combined impact of suboptimal water quality parameters in the presence of pollution in fish early life-stages.