The identification of apolipoprotein C-I in rare minnow (Gobiocypris rarus) and its expression following cadmium exposure

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) is a ubiquitous environment contaminant that has been detected in a variety of terrestrial and aquatic organisms. In our study, rare minnow were exposed to 0.4mg/L Cd2+ solution, fish tissues including gill, intestine, kidney, liver, muscle, and spleen were collected at 1, 6, 12, 24 and 48h after exposure. Differential expression sequence tags (ESTs) were screened and an EST similar to Hemibarbus mylodon apolipoprotein C-I (ApoC-I) was identified. The ApoC-I cDNA had been obtained with the sequence of 583bp, which can code 84 amino acids. The transcription expression patterns of ApoC-I were compared after Cd exposure with the real-time PCR in the above tissues. ApoC-I regulation was prominent in spleen, muscle, gill and liver and moderate in kidney and intestine. This suggests a complex transcriptional regulation of ApoC-I expression following Cd exposure.