Identification and mRNA expression of pi-class glutathione S-transferase and selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase in the gudgeon Gobio gobio exposed to PCB 77.

In aquatic environments some pollutants are present in water and sediments and organisms possess cellular detoxification systems to face up these xenobiotics. The gudgeon, Gobio gobio, is a freshwater benthopelagic fish that appears particularly adequate for an ecotoxicological assessment of rivers. The aim of this study was the identification of GST and GPx genes in this organism in order to develop new indicators of early exposure to xenobiotics in aquatic environments. Reverse-transcription PCR using degenerate primers and RACE-PCR allowed us to identify a selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase (Se-GPx), belonging to the class one (GPx-1), and a pi-class glutathione S-transferase (pi-GST) cDNAs. These sequences encoded for 191 and 208 amino acids proteins respectively, they exhibit high identities and similarities with corresponding proteins in other fish and the residues essential to the enzymatic functions are highly conserved. The expression patterns of these two mRNA were established by real-time PCR in five gudgeon tissues: liver, gills, kidney, spleen and muscle. The mRNA levels of these genes were highest in the liver and their expression in the other tissues exhibited some differences. Gudgeons exposed to PCB 77 in the food exhibited an increase in pi-GST mRNA and a decrease in GPx-1 transcripts levels in the liver. However, no modification of the enzymatic activities was observed. The present study provides the first transcriptional data regarding pi-GST and GPx-1 in the gudgeon Gobio gobio.