Abstract
Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) cDNAs from the polychaete Perinereis aibuhitensis were cloned and characterized in order to investigate the relationship between crude oil exposure and stress response in this worm. The full length of PaSOD was 870bp and PaCAT was 1967bp encoding 150 and 506 amino acids, respectively. Gene expression and enzyme activity of Cu/Zn SOD and CAT in response to crude oil contaminated soil (500, 1500, and 3000mg/kg) were measured. The results showed that expression of the CAT gene and enzyme activity in P. aibuhitensis was positively correlated to the concentration of crude oil and reached a maximum at 15days of exposure to 3000mg/kg crude oil. The expression of the SOD gene and enzyme activity of SOD in P. aibuhitensis also increased during exposure to crude oil and reached a maximum at 10days of exposure to 3000mg/kg crude oil. These results indicated that SOD and CAT are important for maintaining the balance of cellular metabolism and protecting P. aibuhitensis from crude oil toxicity.
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