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

This ۱۴-day trial was conducted on ۲۴ Persian sturgeons with a mean weight of ۳۰۰ g. The treatments consisted of the control group (no cadmium), treatment ۱: ۲۰۰ µg/L of dissolved cadmium, treatment ۲: ۴۰۰ µg/L of dissolved cadmium, and treatment ۳: ۸۰۰ µg/L of dissolved cadmium in triplicates. Results showed that the expression level of metallothionein (MT) at ۲۰۰ μg/L on the first day was ۱.۰۶±۰.۰۲, which increased to ۲.۵۱±۰.۱۳ in the control with prolonged exposure until the fourteenth day. The rate rose from ۱.۴۳±۰.۱۹ on the first day of exposure to ۲.۶۰±۰.۳۶ folds the control by the seventh day at a concentration of ۴۰۰μg/L. Moreover, the expression level at the concentration of ۸۰۰ μg/L rose from ۱.۱±۰.۱۳ on the first day to ۲.۱۵±۰.۰۹ folds in the control on the fourteenth day. The results also indicated that the highest level of MT expression (۲.۶۰±۰.۳۶) was observed in Treatment ۲. Accordingly, all three concentrations of dissolved cadmium (۲۰۰, ۴۰۰, and ۸۰۰ µg/L) significantly increased the MT expression on the last day of the trial (p<۰.۰۵ and p<۰.۰۱). 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.

کلیدواژه ها:

Metallothionein (MT) ، Cadmium ، Gene expression ، Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus)