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Effects of pesticide compounds (chlorothalonil and mancozeb) and benzo[a]pyrene mixture on aryl hydrocarbon receptor, p53 and ubiquitin gene expression levels in haemocytes of soft-shell clams (Mya arenaria)

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Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of the pesticides/polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon mixture on aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), p53 and ubiquitin mRNA level in haemocytes of Mya arenaria exposed to a mixture of chlorothalonil, mancozeb and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) for 48 and 72 h. AhR, p53 and ubiquitin gene expression levels were quantified using quantitative Real-time PCR. For robust and accurate quantification of transcripts, suitable housekeeping genes were selected from four sets of ribosomal and elongation factors transcripts previously sequenced from Mya arenaria using geNorm open source software. Quantitative Real-time PCR data exhibited a significantly high expression of AhR after 72 h of exposure (P ≤ 0.05). p53 gene expression seems to be up-regulated by the mixture after 48 h, however not significantly; but the level of p53 mRNA is down-regulated by the xenobiotics between 48 and 72 h after exposure. This study postulates that AhR mRNA levels could be used as an indicator of the exposure of clams’ haemocytes to a mixture of xenobiotics such as chlorothalonil, mancozeb and BaP. However, further studies have to be pursued in order to unravel the molecular mechanisms involved in the p53 signaling pathway.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Lise Chevarie for the soft-shell clams, Iften Redjah for the technical support and Karine Paquet for the manuscript review. This work was supported by AquaNet, NSERC, the Canada Research Chairs (CRC) Program, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology & Microbiology, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PE, C1A 4P3, Canada

    Julie Pariseau, Patricia McKenna, Mohammed AboElkhair, Franck C. J. Berthe & Ahmed Siah

  2. Institute of Marine Sciences of Rimouski, University of Quebec at Rimouski, 310 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada

    Julie Pariseau, Richard Saint-Louis, Émilien Pelletier & Réjean Tremblay

  3. Department of Health Management, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, 550 University Avenue, Charlottetown, PE, C1A 4P3, Canada

    T. Jeffrey Davidson

  4. Animal Health and Welfare, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Largo N. Palli 5/A, 43100, Parma, Italy

    Franck C. J. Berthe

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  1. Julie Pariseau
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  2. Patricia McKenna
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Correspondence to Ahmed Siah.

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Pariseau, J., McKenna, P., AboElkhair, M. et al. Effects of pesticide compounds (chlorothalonil and mancozeb) and benzo[a]pyrene mixture on aryl hydrocarbon receptor, p53 and ubiquitin gene expression levels in haemocytes of soft-shell clams (Mya arenaria). Ecotoxicology 20, 1765–1772 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-011-0709-y

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