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Response of Sulfide:Quinone Oxidoreductase to Sulfide Exposure in the Echiuran Worm Urechis unicinctus

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Abstract

Sulfide is a natural, widely distributed, poisonous substance, and sulfide:quinone oxidoreductase (SQR) is responsible for the initial oxidation of sulfide in mitochondria. In this study, we examined the response of SQR to sulfide exposure (25, 50, and 150 μM) at mRNA, protein, and enzyme activity levels in the body wall and hindgut of the echiuran worm Urechis unicinctus, a benthic organism living in marine sediments. The results revealed SQR mRNA expression during sulfide exposure in the body wall and hindgut increased in a time- and concentration-dependent manner that increased significantly at 12 h and continuously increased with time. At the protein level, SQR expression in the two tissues showed a time-dependent relationship that increased significantly at 12 h in 50 μM sulfide and 6 h in 150 μM, and then continued to increase with time while no significant increase appeared after 25 μM sulfide exposure. SQR enzyme activity in both tissues increased significantly in a time-dependent manner after 50 μM sulfide exposure. We concluded that SQR expression could be induced by sulfide exposure and that the two tissues studied have dissimilar sulfide metabolic patterns. A U. unicinctus sulfide-induced detoxification mechanism was also discussed.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the laboratory members for experimental material preparation and technical assistance. This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (40776074 and 31072191.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Marine Genetics and Breeding, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266003, China

    Yu-Bin Ma, Zhi-Feng Zhang, Ming-Yu Shao, Xiao-Li Shi, Ying-Ping Dong & Jin-Long Li

  2. Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Genetics, Key Laboratory of Biofuels, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266101, China

    Yu-Bin Ma

  3. Department of Aquaculture, Chonnam National University, Yeosu, 550749, South Korea

    Kyoung-Ho Kang

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  1. Yu-Bin Ma
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  2. Zhi-Feng Zhang
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Correspondence to Zhi-Feng Zhang.

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Ma, YB., Zhang, ZF., Shao, MY. et al. Response of Sulfide:Quinone Oxidoreductase to Sulfide Exposure in the Echiuran Worm Urechis unicinctus . Mar Biotechnol 14, 245–251 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10126-011-9408-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10126-011-9408-1

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