RESUMEN
Polychaetes are often used in toxicological studies to understand mechanisms of resistance and for biomarker detection, however, we know of only a few genetic pathways involved in resistance. We found the marine polychaete Ophelina sp.1 (Opheliidae) in sediment containing high copper levels and investigated this phenomenon by measuring metal accumulation in the worms and changes in gene and protein expression. We sequenced the transcriptome of Ophelina sp.1 from both the impacted and reference sediments using 454-sequencing and analysed their proteomes using differential in gel electrophoresis (DIGE). We used the sequenced transcriptome to guide protein identification. Transcripts coding for the copper chaperone, Atox1, were up-regulated in the worms inhabiting the high copper sediment. In addition, genes coding for respiratory proteins, detoxification proteins and cytoskeletal proteins were significantly altered in metal-exposed worms; many of these changes were also detected in the proteome. This dual approach has provided a better understanding of heavy metal resistance in polychaetes and we now have a wider range of suitable indicator genes and proteins for future biomarker development.
Asunto(s)
Cobre/farmacología , Proteoma/química , Transcriptoma , Secuencia de Aminoácidos , Animales , Anélidos/efectos de los fármacos , Anélidos/genética , Anélidos/metabolismo , Proteínas de Transporte de Catión/genética , Proteínas de Transporte de Catión/aislamiento & purificación , Cobre/análisis , Cobre/metabolismo , Electroforesis en Gel de Poliacrilamida , Sedimentos Geológicos/análisis , Globinas/genética , Metales Pesados/análisis , Chaperonas Moleculares/genética , Chaperonas Moleculares/aislamiento & purificación , Datos de Secuencia Molecular , Contaminantes Químicos del Agua/análisisRESUMEN
Tolerant species of polychaete worms can survive in polluted environments using various resistance mechanisms. One aspect of resistance not often studied in polychaetes is their association with symbiotic bacteria, some of which have resistance to metals and may help the organism to survive. We used "next generation" 454 sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA sequences associated with polychaetes from a copper- and zinc-polluted harbor and from a reference site to determine bacterial community structure. We found changes in the bacteria at the polluted site, including increases in the abundance of bacteria from the order Alteromonadales. These changes in the bacteria associated with polychaetes may be relatively easy to detect and could be a useful indicator of metal pollution.