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Effects of phenol on glutathione S-transferase expression and enzyme activity in Chironomus kiiensis larvae

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Abstract

Detoxifying enzyme mRNAs are potentially useful stress biomarkers. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) metabolises lipophilic organic contaminants and mitigates oxidative damage caused by environmental pollutants. Herein, 12 Chironomus kiiensis GSTs (CkGSTs1−6, CkGSTt1−2, CkGSTd1−2, CkGSTm1−2) were cloned and grouped into sigma, theta, delta and microsomal subclasses. Open reading frames (450−699 bp) encode 170−232 amino acid proteins with predicted molecular masses of 17.31−26.84 kDa and isoelectric points from 4.94 to 9.58. All 12 GSTs were expressed during all tested developmental stages, and 11 displayed higher expression in fourth-instar larvae than eggs. GST activity after 24 h of phenol exposure was used to estimate environmental phenol contamination. After exposure to sublethal concentrations of phenol for 48 h, expression and activity of CkGSTs were inhibited in C. kiiensis larvae. Expression of CkGSTd1−2 and CkGSTs1−2 varied with phenol concentration, indicating potential use as biomarkers for monitoring environmental phenol contamination.

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Acknowledgements

The work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (grant no. 2572016DA02), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31570642).

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  1. Key Laboratory of Sustainable Forest Ecosystem Management, Ministry of Education, School of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, 150040, Harbin, People’s Republic of China

    Lili Sun, Jiannan Wang, Xiaopeng Li & Chuanwang Cao

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  1. Lili Sun
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Correspondence to Chuanwang Cao.

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Sun, L., Wang, J., Li, X. et al. Effects of phenol on glutathione S-transferase expression and enzyme activity in Chironomus kiiensis larvae. Ecotoxicology 28, 754–762 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-019-02071-9

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