title: Ras gene in marine mussels: a molecular level response to petrochemical exposure.
abstract: Mussels are susceptible to numerous toxicants and are often employed as bioindicators. This study investigated the status of the ras proto-oncogene in Mytilus galloprovincialis following petrochemical exposure. A M. galloprovincialis homologue of the vertebrate ras gene was isolated, showing conserved sequence in regions of functional importance and a high incidence of polymorphic variation. Mutational damage was investigated in mussels chronically exposed to the water-accommodated fraction of #4 fuel-oil (WAF), and in mussels collected along the NW coast of Portugal in sites with different levels of petrochemical contamination. A ras gene point mutation was identified in the codon 35 of one individual exposed to 12.5% WAF. No mutations were detected in mussels from the WAF control or environmental samples. This represents the first report of a ras gene mutation, experimentally-induced by petrochemical exposure, in an invertebrate species.
authors.affiliation: ICBAS - Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas de Abel Salazar, Departamento de Estudos de Populações, Laboratório de Ecotoxicologia, Universidade do Porto, Largo Prof. Abel Salazar 2, 4099-003 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Peck
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rendón-Von Osten
authors.forename: A M V M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Guilhermino
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Rotchell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D011905:Genes, ras / Q000235:genetics*; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D049878:Mytilus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics*; D010578:Petroleum / Q000633:toxicity*; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: C438144:ASI1 protein, S cerevisiae; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D010578:Petroleum; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D029701:Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical