Laboratory for Ecophysiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Belgium.
Aquat Toxicol. 2013 Jan 15;126:355-64. doi: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2012.09.007. Epub 2012 Sep 24.
The effects of cadmium were assessed in the freshwater alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Algae were exposed to concentrations of 0, 8.1 or 114.8 μM of cadmium and growth rates, gene transcription and metabolite profiles were examined after 48 and 72 h of exposure. In algae exposed to 8.1 μM Cd, several genes were differentially transcribed after 48 h but no adverse growth related effects were detected. A transient effect on both gene transcription patterns and metabolite profiles could be discerned after 48 h of exposure but the majority of these changes disappeared after 72 h. In contrast, all effects were more pronounced at the 114.8 μM cadmium exposure. Here growth was clearly reduced and transcription of a large number of genes involved in oxidative stress defense mechanisms was differentially increased. Metabolites involved in the glutathione synthesis pathway (an important antioxidant defense) were also affected but the effects of cadmium were found to be more pronounced at the transcript level than in the metabolome, suggesting that the former exhibits greater sensitivity toward cadmium exposure.
本研究评估了镉对淡水藻类莱茵衣藻的影响。将藻类分别暴露于 0、8.1 或 114.8 μM 的镉浓度下，暴露 48 和 72 小时后，检测其生长速率、基因转录和代谢物图谱。在暴露于 8.1 μM Cd 的藻类中，在 48 小时后有几个基因差异转录，但未检测到与生长相关的不良影响。在暴露 48 小时后，可以分辨出基因转录模式和代谢物图谱的瞬时变化，但大多数变化在 72 小时后消失。相比之下，在 114.8 μM 镉暴露下，所有影响都更为明显。在这里，生长明显受到抑制，并且大量参与氧化应激防御机制的基因转录被差异上调。涉及谷胱甘肽合成途径（一种重要的抗氧化防御）的代谢物也受到影响，但与代谢组学相比，镉对转录水平的影响更为明显，这表明前者对镉暴露表现出更高的敏感性。
