Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2011, 12(12), 9172-9188; doi:10.3390/ijms12129172
Article

Dynamics of Protein Phosphatase Gene Expression in Corbicula fluminea Exposed to Microcystin-LR and to Toxic Microcystis aeruginosa Cells

José Carlos Martins 1,2 email, João Machado 1 email, António Martins 1 email, Joana Azevedo 1 email, Luís OlivaTeles 1,2 email and Vitor Vasconcelos 1,2,* email
1 CIIMAR/CIMAR, Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, Rua dos Bragas 289, 4050-123 Porto, Portugal 2 Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, 4069-007 Porto, Portugal
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 1 August 2011; in revised form: 21 November 2011 / Accepted: 30 November 2011 / Published: 8 December 2011
(This article belongs to the Section Molecular Toxicology)
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Abstract: This study investigated the in vivo effects of microcystins on gene expression of several phosphoprotein phosphatases (PPP) in the freshwater clam Corbicula fluminea with two different exposure scenarios. Clams were exposed for 96 h to 5 µg L−1 of dissolved microcystin-LR and the relative changes of gene expression of three different types of PPP (PPP1, 2 and 4) were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR. The results showed a significant induction of PPP2 gene expression in the visceral mass. In contrast, the cyanotoxin did not cause any significant changes on PPP1 and PPP4 gene expression. Based on these results, we studied alterations in transcriptional patterns in parallel with enzymatic activity of C. fluminea for PPP2, induced by a Microcystis aeruginosa toxic strain (1 × 105 cells cm−3) during 96 h. The relative changes of gene expression and enzyme activity in visceral mass were analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR and colorimetric assays respectively. The clams exhibited a significant reduction of PPP2 activity with a concomitant enhancement of gene expression. Considering all the results we can conclude that the exposure to an ecologically relevant concentration of pure or intracellular microcystins (-LR) promoted an in vivo effect on PPP2 gene expression in C. fluminea.
Keywords: C. fluminea; cyanotoxins; gene expression; microcystin-LR; protein phosphatases

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MDPI and ACS Style

Martins, J.C.; Machado, J.; Martins, A.; Azevedo, J.; OlivaTeles, L.; Vasconcelos, V. Dynamics of Protein Phosphatase Gene Expression in Corbicula fluminea Exposed to Microcystin-LR and to Toxic Microcystis aeruginosa Cells. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2011, 12, 9172-9188.

AMA Style

Martins JC, Machado J, Martins A, Azevedo J, OlivaTeles L, Vasconcelos V. Dynamics of Protein Phosphatase Gene Expression in Corbicula fluminea Exposed to Microcystin-LR and to Toxic Microcystis aeruginosa Cells. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2011; 12(12):9172-9188.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Martins, José Carlos; Machado, João; Martins, António; Azevedo, Joana; OlivaTeles, Luís; Vasconcelos, Vitor. 2011. "Dynamics of Protein Phosphatase Gene Expression in Corbicula fluminea Exposed to Microcystin-LR and to Toxic Microcystis aeruginosa Cells." Int. J. Mol. Sci. 12, no. 12: 9172-9188.

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