title: Natural occurrence of metallothioneinlike proteins in liver tissues of four fish species from the northeast Mediterranean Sea.
abstract: Fish with different ecological needs were captured from the northeast Mediterranean Sea to determine metallothioneinlike proteins in their livers. Heat-treated liver samples were run on a column packed with Sephadex G-75 (Sigma, Germany) for subsequent determination of metals, sulfhydryl, and absorbance at 254 and 280 nm. Liver cytosols of Sparus auratus and Mullus barbatus had three heat-stable protein peaks, whereas Mugil cephalus and Atherina hepsetus had two. The third protein peak, containing metallothionein-like proteins (5000 to 6000 Da), was present in all fish. Only high- and low-molecular-weight proteins contained sulfhydryl and metals. Zinc was the most abundant metal in the metallothioneinlike proteins, whereas cadmium and lead were not detected. The differences in the characteristics of metal-binding proteins among fish indicate that the biological characteristics of fish species should be carefully taken into account concerning natural monitoring studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Cukurova, Balcali, Adana, Turkey. gatli@cu.edu.tr
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Atli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Canli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002104:Cadmium / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005399:Fishes / Q000378:metabolism*; D005858:Germany; D007854:Lead / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D008668:Metallothionein / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D008670:Metals / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D010473:Perciformes / Q000378:metabolism; D023701:Smegmamorpha / Q000378:metabolism; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D008670:Metals; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002104:Cadmium; D007854:Lead; D008668:Metallothionein