Characterization of Two-Component System gene (TCS) in melatonin-treated common bean under salt and drought stress.

The two-component system (TCS) generally consists of three elements, namely the histidine kinase (HK), response regulator (RR), and histidine phosphotransfer (HP) gene families. This study aimed to assess the expression of TCS genes in P. vulgaris leaf tissue under salt and drought stress and perform a genome-wide analysis of TCS gene family members using bioinformatics methods. This study identified 67 PvTCS genes, including 10 PvHP, 38 PvRR, and 19 PvHK, in the bean genome. PvHK2 had the maximum number of amino acids with 1261, whilst PvHP8 had the lowest number with 87. In addition, their theoretical isoelectric points were between 4.56 (PvHP8) and 9.15 (PvPRR10). The majority of PvTCS genes are unstable. Phylogenetic analysis of TCS genes in A. thaliana, G. max, and bean found that PvTCS genes had close phylogenetic relationships with the genes of other plants. Segmental and tandem duplicate gene pairs were detected among the TCS genes and TCS genes have been subjected to purifying selection pressure in the evolutionary process. Furthermore, the TCS gene family, which has an important role in abiotic stress and hormonal responses in plants, was characterized for the first time in beans, and its expression of TCS genes in bean leaves under salt and drought stress was established using RNAseq and qRT-PCR analyses. The findings of this study will aid future functional and genomic studies by providing essential information about the members of the TCS gene family in beans. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12298-023-01406-5.

Impact of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) exposure on embryo development and expression of genes related to the innate immune system of zebrafish (Danio rerio).

CuO NPs are nanomaterials with catalytic activity and unique thermo-physical properties used in different fields such as sensors, catalysts, surfactants, batteries, antimicrobials and solar energy transformations. Because of its wide field of use, these nanoparticles accumulate in the aquatic environment and thus lead to toxic effects on aquatic organisms. The toxicological findings about CuO NPs are controversial and these effects of CuO NPs on aquatic organisms have not been elucidated in detail. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the toxic effect of CuO NPs on zebrafish embryos using different parameters including molecular and morphologic. For this purpose, zebrafish embryos at 4 h after post fertilization (hpf) were exposed to different concentrations of CuO NPs (0.5, 1, 1.5 mg/L) until 96 hpf. Mortality, hatching, heartbeat, malformation rates were examined during the exposure period. In addition, Raman spectroscopy was used to determine whether CuO NPs entered into the tissues of zebrafish larvae or not. Moreover, the alterations in the expression of genes related to the antioxidant system and innate immune system were examined in the embryos exposed to CuO NPs during 96 h. The results showed that CuO NPs was not able to enter into the zebrafish embryos/larvae tissues but caused an increased the mortality rate, a delayed hatching, and a decreased heartbeat rate. Moreover, CuO NPs caused several types of abnormalities such as head and tail malformations, vertebral deformities, yolk sac edema, and pericardial edema. RT-PCR results showed that the transcription of mtf-1, hsp70, nfkb and il-1ß, tlr-4, tlr-22, trf, cebp was changed by the application of CuO NPs. In conclusion, short-term exposure to CuO NPs has toxic effects on the development of zebrafish embryos.

A holistic study on potential toxic effects of carboxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs-COOH) on zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos/larvae.

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have widespread use in industrial and consumer products and great potential in biomedical applications. This leads to inevitably their release into the environment and the formation of their toxic effects on organisms. These effects can change depending on their physicochemical characteristics. Therefore, the toxicological findings of MWCNTs are inconsistent. Their toxicities related to surface modification have not been elucidated in a holistic manner. Hence, this study was conducted to clarify their potential toxic effects on zebrafish embryos/larvae in a comprehensive approach using morphologic, biochemical and molecular parameters. Zebrafish embryos were exposed to 5, 10, 20 mg/L doses of MWCNTs-COOH at 4 h after fertilization and grown until 96 hpf. Physiological findings demonstrated that they induced a concentration-dependent increase in the mortality rate, delayed hatching and decrease in the heartbeat rate. Moreover, it caused abnormalities including yolk sac edema, pericardial edema, head, tail malformations, and vertebral deformities. These effects may be due to the alterations in antioxidant and immune system related gene expressions after their entry into zebrafish embryo/larvae. The entry was confirmed from the evaluation of Raman spectra collected from the head, yolk sac, and tail of control and the nanotube treated groups. The gene expression analysis indicated the changes in the expression of oxidative stress (mtf-1, hsp70, and nfkb) and innate immune system (il-1ß, tlr-4, tlr-22, trf, and cebp) related genes, especially an increased in the expression of the hsp70 and il-1ß. These findings proved the developmental toxicities of MWCNTs-COOH on the zebrafish embryos/larvae.

Developmental toxicity of penconazole in Zebrfish (Danio rerio) embryos.

Penconazole is a widely used fungicide that is toxic to a variety of organisms including fish. In the present study, we investigated the developmental toxicity of penconazole on zebrafish embryos by exposing to different concentrations of penconazole (0.8, 1.6 and 2.4 mg/L) from 4-h post-fertilization (hpf). Hatching, survival, and heart rates, body length, malformation and expression of several genes were detected. The results showed that penconazole exposure induced developmental toxicity, including delayed hatching, reduced survival, and heart rate. In addition to this, exposure to penconazole caused malformations, including pericardial edema, yolk sac edema, axial malformation, tail malformation and spinal curvature. Furthermore, RT-PCR results showed that mRNA levels of antioxidant genes were down-regulated after penconazole exposure. On the other hand, mRNA levels of interleukin 1 beta and interferon in embryos were up-regulated after exposure to penconazole. In summary, our data indicated that penconazole cause embryonic development toxicity on zebrafish embryos.

The impact of ultraviolet B (UV-B) radiation in combination with different temperatures in the early life stage of zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Ultraviolet B (UV-B) radiation is an environmental stressor with detrimental effects on many aquatic organisms including fish. In addition, UV-B exposure combined with other environmental factors could have even more negative effects. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of UV-B radiation exposure on zebrafish embryos/larvae in terms of survival, developmental toxicity and the mRNA levels of the genes related to oxidative stress and innate immune response at different temperatures (24 °C, 28 °C and 30 °C). Zebrafish embryos were exposed to 3.3 W m-2 UV-B radiation and/or 24 °C, 28 °C (for the control) and 30 °C temperatures between 4 and 96 h post-fertilization. The mortality, hatching rate, malformations and heartbeat rate were evaluated. The results demonstrated that UV-B exposure or different temperatures (24 °C and 30 °C) induced developmental toxicity, including delayed hatching, increased the occurrence of malformations, and reduced the heartbeat rate and survival. The combined exposure to UV-B and different temperatures (24 °C and 30 °C) resulted in greater adverse effects on embryonic development. Furthermore, RT-PCR results showed that the mRNA levels of superoxide dismutase 1 (sod1), catalase 1 (cat1), heat shock protein 70 (hsp70), interleukin-1 beta (il-1ß) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (tnfα) genes were significantly up-regulated in all of the treatment groups. These results revealed that the interaction between UV-B and temperature impaired the development of zebrafish embryos and disrupted their metabolism.

Deltamethrin attenuates antioxidant defense system and induces the expression of heat shock protein 70 in rainbow trout.

The current research aims to determine alterations in gene expression and enzymatic activity of fish antioxidant metabolism in response to pesticide administration. To this end, three different deltamethrin concentrations (0.25, 1, 2.5mug/L) were administrated to rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) at different time intervals (6, 12, 24, 48 and 72h) in order to observe the influences of the pesticide on the activity of glutathione reductase, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-ghosphogluconate dehydrogenase, and the expression of Hsp70 gene. We observed that the activities of the enzymes decreased with increasing deltamethrin concentrations and exposure time. The pesticide had more inhibitory effects on gill enzymes than those of muscle, liver and kidney. In addition, we detected that deltamethrin increased the expression of the stress-related protein Hsp70 with significant fold-chance values. The efficiency rate was 96.4% which is equal to 1.96 calculated via conversion formula used to calculate fold-chance value. We conclude that deltamethrin causes oxidative stress in fish both at protein and mRNA levels.

Sublethal ammonia and urea concentrations inhibit rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) erythrocyte glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase.

In vitro and in vivo effects of sublethal ammonia and urea concentrations were assayed on glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) erythrocyte. G6PD was purified from erythrocytes with a specific activity of 16.7 EU (mmol NADP+/min)/mg protein and approximately 1600-fold in a yield of approximately 60% by ammonium sulphate precipitation and 2',5'-ADP Sepharose 4B affinity chromatography. The purity of the enzyme was confirmed using SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Experiments with ammonia (2.2-5.5 microM) and urea (20-50 microM) showed the inhibitory effects on the enzyme, in vitro. Inhibition effects were determined in vitro by Lineweaver-Burk and regression graphs. The dissociation constant of the enzyme inhibitor complex (Ki) and 50% inhibitory values were 2.26+/-1.21 and 2.86+/-3.51 microM for ammonia and 18.69+/-6.75 and 23.77+/-4.58 microM for urea, respectively. In vivo studies in rainbow trout erythrocytes showed significant (p < 0.01) inhibition of G6PD by ammonia and urea. However, ammonia inhibited more than urea since there were significant differences between the final values of erythrocyte G6PD activities.