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Molecular characterisation of cytochrome P450 enzymes in waterflea (Daphnia pulex) and their expression regulation by polystyrene nanoplastics
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Researchers cloned and characterized two cytochrome P450 enzyme genes in the water flea Daphnia pulex and found that polystyrene nanoplastic exposure at 0.5 mg/L upregulated three of five CYP genes, with expression returning toward baseline at higher doses — suggesting these detoxification enzymes respond to nanoplastic stress and may serve as molecular biomarkers of nanoplastic exposure in aquatic invertebrates.
Cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes are one of the largest protein families, and they metabolise a wide range of lipophilic organic endogenous and exogenous compounds. Many cytochrome P450 genes have been cloned and characterised, and they are frequently used as biomarkers in environmental toxicology studies because of their sensitivity and inducibility. In the present study, the full-length cDNAs of DpCYP370B and DpCYP4 were cloned from Daphnia pulex for the first time. The sequence of DpCYP370B consisted of an ORF of 1515 bp that encoded a 504 amino acid polypeptide, while the sequence of DpCYP4 comprised an ORF of 1527 bp that encoded a 508 amino acid polypeptide. Homologous alignments revealed the presence of a conserved cysteine haeme-iron ligand signature, FxxGxxxCxG, located in the C-terminal portion. Both the proteins contained a sequence for a transmembrane region that was deduced to be located in the endoplasmic reticulum. Subsequently, the expression levels of DpCYP370B and DpCYP4, as well as those of CYP4AN1, CYP4C33, and CYP4C34, were investigated using quantitative real-time PCR after exposure to five polystyrene nanoplastic concentrations: 0 (control), 0.1, 0.5, 1, and 2 mg/L for 21 days. Except for DpCYP4, the highest mRNA expression was observed at 0.5 mg/L nanoplastics; next, the expression of three of the enzymes (DpCYP370B, CYP4AN1, CYP4C34,) decreased to that of the control level at 1 and 2 mg/L doses of nanoplastics. The expression of DpCYP4 did not significantly change compared with that of the control group. These results indicated that CYP genes might play an important role in protecting D. pulex against nanoplastic pollutants.
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