Transgenic nematodes as biosensors for metal stress in soil pore water samples
Caenorhabditis elegans strains carrying stress-reporter green fluorescent protein transgenes were used to explore patterns of response to metals. Multiple stress pathways were induced at high doses by most metals tested, including members of the heat shock, oxidative stress, metallothionein (mtl) an...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Springer Verlag
2012
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2592/ |
| _version_ | 1848790825363832832 |
|---|---|
| author | Anbalagan, Charumathi Lafayette, Ivan Antoniou-Kourounioti, Melissa Haque, Mainul King, John Johnsen, Bob Baillie, David Gutierrez, Carmen Martin, Jose A. Rodriguez de Pomerai, David |
| author_facet | Anbalagan, Charumathi Lafayette, Ivan Antoniou-Kourounioti, Melissa Haque, Mainul King, John Johnsen, Bob Baillie, David Gutierrez, Carmen Martin, Jose A. Rodriguez de Pomerai, David |
| author_sort | Anbalagan, Charumathi |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Caenorhabditis elegans strains carrying stress-reporter green fluorescent protein transgenes were used to explore patterns of response to metals. Multiple stress pathways were induced at high doses by most metals tested, including members of the heat shock, oxidative stress, metallothionein (mtl) and xenobiotic response gene families. A mathematical model (to be published separately) of the gene regulatory circuit controlling mtl production predicted that chemically similar divalent metals (classic inducers) should show additive effects on mtl gene induction, whereas chemically dissimilar metals should show interference. These predictions were verified experimentally; thus cadmium and mercury showed additive effects, whereas ferric iron (a weak inducer) significantly reduced the effect of mercury. We applied a similar battery of tests to diluted samples of soil pore water extracted centrifugally after mixing 20% w/w ultrapure water with air-dried soil from an abandoned lead/zinc mine in the Murcia region of Spain. In addition, metal contents of both soil and soil pore water were determined by ICP-MS, and simplified mixtures of soluble metal salts were tested at equivalent final concentrations. The effects of extracted soil pore water (after tenfold dilution) were closely mimicked by mixtures of its principal component ions, and even by the single most prevalent contaminant (zinc) alone, though other metals modulated its effects both positively and negatively. In general, mixtures containing similar (divalent) metal ions exhibited mainly additive effects, whereas admixture of dissimilar (e.g. trivalent) ions often resulted in interference, reducing overall levels of stress-gene induction. These findings were also consistent with model predictions. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T18:18:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-2592 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T18:18:46Z |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publisher | Springer Verlag |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-25922020-05-04T20:21:44Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2592/ Transgenic nematodes as biosensors for metal stress in soil pore water samples Anbalagan, Charumathi Lafayette, Ivan Antoniou-Kourounioti, Melissa Haque, Mainul King, John Johnsen, Bob Baillie, David Gutierrez, Carmen Martin, Jose A. Rodriguez de Pomerai, David Caenorhabditis elegans strains carrying stress-reporter green fluorescent protein transgenes were used to explore patterns of response to metals. Multiple stress pathways were induced at high doses by most metals tested, including members of the heat shock, oxidative stress, metallothionein (mtl) and xenobiotic response gene families. A mathematical model (to be published separately) of the gene regulatory circuit controlling mtl production predicted that chemically similar divalent metals (classic inducers) should show additive effects on mtl gene induction, whereas chemically dissimilar metals should show interference. These predictions were verified experimentally; thus cadmium and mercury showed additive effects, whereas ferric iron (a weak inducer) significantly reduced the effect of mercury. We applied a similar battery of tests to diluted samples of soil pore water extracted centrifugally after mixing 20% w/w ultrapure water with air-dried soil from an abandoned lead/zinc mine in the Murcia region of Spain. In addition, metal contents of both soil and soil pore water were determined by ICP-MS, and simplified mixtures of soluble metal salts were tested at equivalent final concentrations. The effects of extracted soil pore water (after tenfold dilution) were closely mimicked by mixtures of its principal component ions, and even by the single most prevalent contaminant (zinc) alone, though other metals modulated its effects both positively and negatively. In general, mixtures containing similar (divalent) metal ions exhibited mainly additive effects, whereas admixture of dissimilar (e.g. trivalent) ions often resulted in interference, reducing overall levels of stress-gene induction. These findings were also consistent with model predictions. Springer Verlag 2012-03 Article PeerReviewed Anbalagan, Charumathi, Lafayette, Ivan, Antoniou-Kourounioti, Melissa, Haque, Mainul, King, John, Johnsen, Bob, Baillie, David, Gutierrez, Carmen, Martin, Jose A. Rodriguez and de Pomerai, David (2012) Transgenic nematodes as biosensors for metal stress in soil pore water samples. Ecotoxicology, 21 (2). pp. 439-455. ISSN 0963-9292 Transgenic C. elegans GFP reporters Stress-response pathways Metal contamination Soil water Mathematical modelling http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10646-011-0804-0 doi:10.1007/s10646-011-0804-0 doi:10.1007/s10646-011-0804-0 |
| spellingShingle | Transgenic C. elegans GFP reporters Stress-response pathways Metal contamination Soil water Mathematical modelling Anbalagan, Charumathi Lafayette, Ivan Antoniou-Kourounioti, Melissa Haque, Mainul King, John Johnsen, Bob Baillie, David Gutierrez, Carmen Martin, Jose A. Rodriguez de Pomerai, David Transgenic nematodes as biosensors for metal stress in soil pore water samples |
| title | Transgenic nematodes as biosensors for metal stress in soil pore water samples |
| title_full | Transgenic nematodes as biosensors for metal stress in soil pore water samples |
| title_fullStr | Transgenic nematodes as biosensors for metal stress in soil pore water samples |
| title_full_unstemmed | Transgenic nematodes as biosensors for metal stress in soil pore water samples |
| title_short | Transgenic nematodes as biosensors for metal stress in soil pore water samples |
| title_sort | transgenic nematodes as biosensors for metal stress in soil pore water samples |
| topic | Transgenic C. elegans GFP reporters Stress-response pathways Metal contamination Soil water Mathematical modelling |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2592/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2592/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/2592/ |