Expression of metallothionein gene in kidney tissue of Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) after exposure to cadmium chloride

Authors

1 Department of Marine Biology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

2 Iranian Fisheries Science Research Institute (IFSRI), Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran

3 Department of Fisheries, Lahijan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Lahijan, Iran

4 Department of Genetics, Caspian Sea Sturgeons International Research Institute, Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization, Rasht, Iran

10.22092/ijfs.2025.132898

Abstract

This 14-day trial was conducted on 24 Persian sturgeons with a mean weight of 300 g. The treatments consisted of the control group (no cadmium), treatment 1: 200 µg/L of dissolved cadmium, treatment 2: 400 µg/L of dissolved cadmium, and treatment 3: 800 µg/L of dissolved cadmium in triplicates. Results showed that the expression level of metallothionein (MT) at 200 μg/L on the first day was 1.06±0.02, which increased to 2.51±0.13 in the control with prolonged exposure until the fourteenth day. The rate rose from 1.43±0.19 on the first day of exposure to 2.60±0.36 folds the control by the seventh day at a concentration of 400μg/L. Moreover, the expression level at the concentration of 800 μg/L rose from 1.1±0.13 on the first day to 2.15±0.09 folds in the control on the fourteenth day. The results also indicated that the highest level of MT expression (2.60±0.36) was observed in Treatment 2. Accordingly, all three concentrations of dissolved cadmium (200, 400, and 800 µg/L) significantly increased the MT expression on the last day of the trial (p<0.05 and p<0.01). Therefore, MT can be considered a biomarker of cadmium exposure in Persian sturgeons. This study also demonstrated that the MT expression was increased in the kidney tissue of the samples with longer times of exposure to cadmium, but it did not increase by increasing cadmium concentration. Hence, the length of cadmium exposure can affect the kidney MT expression level of Persian sturgeon.

Keywords

Iranian Journal of Fisheries Sciences
Volume 24, Issue 2
March 2025
Pages 333-351

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