Expression of biotransformation and oxidative stress genes in the giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii exposed to chlordecone.

Chlordecone is a persistent organochlorine pesticide widely used between 1972 and 1993 in the French West Indies to control the root borer in banana fields. Chlordecone use resulted in long-term pollution of soils, contamination of waters, of aquatic organisms, and of fields. Chlordecone is known to be neurotoxic, to increase prostate cancer, and to have negative effects on cognitive and motor development during infancy. In Guadeloupe, most of the freshwater species living in contaminated rivers exceed the French legal limit of 20 µg·kg(-1) wet weight. In the present study, we chose a transcriptomic approach to study the cellular effects of chlordecone in the giant freshwater prawn Macrobrachium rosenbergii, an important economical species in Guadeloupe. Quantitative PCR revealed an induction of genes involved in defense mechanism against oxidative stress (catalase and selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase) in prawns exposed to low environmental concentrations of chlordecone after 12 and 24 h of exposure. In prawns reared in a contaminated farm, transcription of genes involved in the biotransformation process (cytochrome P450 and glutathione-S-transferase (GST)) were induced after 8 days of exposure. Our results provide information on the mechanims of defense induced by chlordecone in aquatic crustacean species. This gene expression study of selected genes should be further strengthened by proteomic analyses and enzymatic activity assays to confirm the response of these biomarkers of stress in crustaceans and to give new insights into the mechanism of toxicity by chlordecone.

Expression of biomineralisation genes in tissues and cultured cells of the abalone Haliotis tuberculata.

Mollusc shell biomineralisation involves a variety of organic macromolecules (matrix proteins and enzymes) that control calcium carbonate (CaCO3) deposition, growth of crystals, the selection of polymorph, and the microstructure of the shell. Since the mantle and the hemocytes play an important role in the control of shell formation, primary cell cultures have been developed to study the expression of three biomineralisation genes recently identified in the abalone Haliotis tuberculata: a matrix protein, Lustrin A, and two carbonic anhydrase enzymes. Mantle cells and hemocytes were successfully maintained in primary cultures and were evaluated for their viability and proliferation over time using a semi-automated assay (XTT). PCR and densitometric analysis were used to semi-quantify the gene expression and compare the level of expression in native tissues and cultured cells. The results demonstrated that the three genes of interest were being expressed in abalone tissues, with expression highest in the mantle and much lower in the hemocytes and the gills. Biomineralisation genes were also expressed significantly in mantle cells, confirming that primary cultures of target tissues are suitable models for in vitro investigation of matrix protein secretion.

Identification of two carbonic anhydrases in the mantle of the European Abalone Haliotis tuberculata (Gastropoda, Haliotidae): phylogenetic implications.

Carbonic anhydrases (CAs) represent a diversified family of metalloenzymes that reversibly catalyze the hydration of carbon dioxide. They are involved in a wide range of functions, among which is the formation of CaCO(3) skeletons in metazoans. In the shell-forming mantle tissues of mollusks, the location of the CA catalytic activity is elusive and gives birth to contradicting views. In the present paper, using the European abalone Haliotis tuberculata, a key model gastropod in biomineralization studies, we identified and characterized two CAs (htCA1 and htCA2) that are specific of the shell-forming mantle tissue. We analyzed them in a phylogenetic context. Combining various approaches, including proteomics, activity tests, and in silico analyses, we showed that htCA1 is secreted but is not incorporated in the organic matrix of the abalone shell and that htCA2 is transmembrane. Together with previous studies dealing with molluskan CAs, our findings suggest two possible modes of action for shell mineralization: the first mode applies to, for example, the bivalves Unio pictorum and Pinctada fucata, and involves a true CA activity in their shell matrix; the second mode corresponds to, for example, the European abalone, and does not include CA activity in the shell matrix. Our work provides new insight on the diversity of the extracellular macromolecular tools used for shell biomineralization study in mollusks.

In vitro effects of triclosan and methyl-triclosan on the marine gastropod Haliotis tuberculata.

Triclosan (2,4,4'-trichloro-2'-hydroxy-diphenyl ether; TCS) is an antibacterial agent incorporated in a wide variety of household and personal care products. Because of its partial elimination in sewage treatment plants, TCS is commonly detected in natural waters and sediments. Moreover, due to its high hydrophobicity, TCS accumulates in fatty tissues in various aquatic organisms. TCS can be converted into methyl-triclosan (2,4,4'-trichloro-2'-methoxydiphenyl ether; MTCS) after biological methylation. In this study, the acute cytotoxicity of TCS and MTCS in short-term in vitro experiments was assessed on cell cultures from the European abalone Haliotis tuberculata. The results showed that morphology and density of hemocyte are affected from a concentration of 8 µM TCS. Using the XTT reduction assay, TCS has been demonstrated to decrease hemocyte metabolism activity in a dose- and time-dependent exposure. The IC(50) was evaluated at 6 µM for both hemocyte and gill cells after a 24 h-incubation with TCS. A significant cytotoxicity of MTCS was also observed from 4 µM in 24 h-old hemocyte culture. Our results reveal a toxic effect of TCS and MTCS on immune (hemocytes) and/or respiratory cells (gill cells) of the abalone, species living in coastal waters areas and exposed to anthropogenic pollution.

Two different and functional nuclear rDNA genes in the abalone Haliotis tuberculata: tissue differential expression.

Analysis of the 18S rDNA sequences of Haliotis tuberculata tuberculata and H. t. coccinea subtaxa identified two different types of 18S rDNA genes and ITS1 regions. These two different genes were also detected in H. marmorata, H. rugosa and H. diversicolor that are separated from H. tuberculata by 5-65 mya. The mean divergence value between type I and type II sequences ranged from 7.25% for 18S to 80% for ITS1. ITS1 type II is homologous with the ITS1 consensus sequences published for many abalone species, whereas ITS1 type I presented only minor homology with a unique database entry for H. iris ITS1. A phylogenetic analysis makes a clear separation between type I and type II ITS1 sequences and supports grouping H. t. tuberculata, H. t. coccinea and H. marmorata together. The two subtaxa do not show any significant differences between the homologous 18S rDNA sequences. A general structure of the ITS1 transcript was proposed, with four major helices for the two types. The two genes were expressed and, for the first time, a putative differential expression of ITS1 type I was detected in the gills, digestive gland and gonads whereas ITS1 type II was expressed in all tissues.

Ultrastructure, chemistry and mineralogy of the growing shell of the European abalone Haliotis tuberculata.

An integrated study of shell formation was initiated covering the entire life cycle of the marine gastropod Haliotis tuberculata. Shell microstructure, chemistry and mineralogy were investigated by polarized microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX) and infra-red (IR) spectroscopy. SEM images of trochophore and veliger larvae showed the different stages of shell growth from the initial shell field to the late calcified protoconch. Cross-sections revealed the microstructural arrangement of biominerals, showing the progressive mineralization of the organic protoconch prior to metamorphosis. To gain more information on mineralogical composition, EDX analyses and IR spectroscopy were performed along the development stages. The results demonstrated that early protoconch was mostly composed of amorphous calcium carbonate, while veliger stages showed a gradually crystallization under the form of aragonite. Post-metamorphic shell contained two distinct parts, the original protoconch supporting the new juvenile shell characterized by a marked sculptural pattern. The shells from post-larval and juvenile abalones were essentially made of aragonite.

Cloning and use of a coral 36B4 gene to study the differential expression of coral genes between light and dark conditions.

This paper aims to validate reference genes for gene expression studies between light and dark conditions in the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata for future gene expression studies of the "light-enhanced calcification" phenomenon. For this purpose, we cloned, sequenced, and characterized a candidate reference gene, the 36B4 gene from the coral S. pistillata, and validated 36B4 and beta-actin as reference genes. To illustrate the future applications of these reference genes, we tested the dark and light expression of two photosynthetic genes (Rubisco and D1 protein of the photosystem II) and two genes encoding proteins involved in calcium transport for coral calcification (a calcium ATPase and a calcium channel). Results show that both photosynthetic genes are enhanced during the light when standardized against 36B4 and beta-actin, whereas the two genes encoding proteins involved in calcium transport are not differentially expressed between light and dark conditions. The characterization of a coral 36B4 and the establishment of such valid reference genes will be useful for future gene expression studies between diverse conditions (aposymbiotic/symbiotic, stress/control, light/dark conditions) in scleractinian corals.