Identification of nickel response genes in abnormal early developments of sea urchin by differential display polymerase chain reaction.
Bioassays and biomarkers have been previously developed to assess the effects of heavy metal contaminants on the early life stages of the sea urchin. In this study, malformation in the early developmental processes was observed in sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus intermedius) larvae exposed to 10 ppm Ni for over 30 h. The most critical stage at which the triggering of nickel effects takes place is thought to be the blastula stage, which occurs after fertilization in larval development. To investigate the molecular-level responses of sea urchin exposed to heavy metal stress and to explore the differentially expressed genes that are induced or repressed by nickel, differential display polymerase chain reaction (DD-PCR) was used with sea urchin mRNAs. The malformation-related genes expressed in the early life stages of the sea urchin were cloned from larvae exposed to 10 ppm of nickel for 15 h, and accessed via DD-PCR. Sequence analysis results revealed that each of the genes evidenced high homology with EGF2, PCSK9, serine/threonine protein kinase, apolipophorin precursor protein, and MGC80921 protein/transcript variant 2. This result may prove useful in the development of novel biomarkers for the assessment of heavy metal stresses on sea urchin embryos.
Risk Assessment Division, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon 404-708, Republic of Korea.
Tae Kwon
TK
Ryu
Gunsup
G
Lee
Yong
Y
Rhee
Heung-Sik
HS
Park
Man
M
Chang
Sukchan
S
Lee
Jaean
J
Lee
Taek-Kyun
TK
Lee
D000818:Animals; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000187:drug effects; D007814:Larva; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000494:pharmacology; D009532:Nickel / Q000494:pharmacology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012617:Sea Urchins / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
D019216:Metals, Heavy; D009532:Nickel