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The comparison of transcriptomic response of green microalga Chlorella sorokiniana exposure to environmentally relevant concentration of cadmium(II) and 4-n-nonylphenol

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Abstract

The transcriptomic response of green microalga Chlorella sorokiniana exposure to environmentally relevant concentration of cadmium(II) (Cd) and 4-n-nonylphenol (4-n-NP) was compared in the present study. Cd and 4-n-NP exposure showed a similar pattern of dys-regulated pathways. The photosystem was affected due to suppression of chlorophyll biosynthesis via down-regulation of Mg-protoporphyrin IX chelatase subunit ChlD (CHLD) and divinyl chlorophyllide a 8-vinyl-reductase (DVR) in Cd group and via down-regulation of DVR in 4-n-NP group. Furthermore, the reactive oxygen species (ROS) could be induced through down-regulation of solanesyl diphosphate synthase 1 (SPS1) and homogentisate phytyltransferase (HPT) in Cd group and via down-regulation of HPT in 4-n-NP group. Additionally, Cd and 4-n-NP would both cause the dys-regulation of carbohydrate metabolism and protein synthesis. On the other hand, there are some different responses or detoxification mechanism of C. sorokiniana to 4-n-NP stress compared to Cd exposure. The increased ROS would cause the DNA damage and protein destruction in Cd exposure group. Simultaneously, the RNA transcription was dys-regulated and a series of changes in gene expressions were observed. This included lipid metabolism, protein modification, and DNA repair, which involved in response of C. sorokiniana to Cd stress or detoxification of Cd. For 4-n-NP exposure, no effect on lipid metabolism and DNA repair was observed. The nucleotide metabolism including pyrimidine metabolism and purine metabolism was significantly up-regulated in the 4-n-NP exposure group, but not in the Cd exposure group. In addition, 4-n-NP would induce the ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis and proteasomal degradation to diminish the misfolded protein caused by ROS and down-regulation of heat shocking protein 40. In sum, the Cd and 4-n-NP could cause the same toxicological effects via the common pathways and possess similar detoxification mechanism. They also showed different responses in nucleotide metabolism, lipid metabolism, and DNA repair.

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Acknowledgements

Financial support from the Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province, China (Grant No. 2014A020216036), and National Natural Science Foundation of China (51638005) is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment, South China Normal University, Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou, 510006, People’s Republic of China

    Na Ding, Lu Wang, Yuan Kang, Kesong Luo, Diya Zeng, Qiuyun Zhang, Lixuan Zeng, Jiwen Luo & Feng Jiang

  2. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, People’s Republic of China

    Yuan Kang, Qiuyun Zhang, Lixuan Zeng, Jiwen Luo & Feng Jiang

  3. Consortium on Health, Environment, Education and Research (CHEER), and Department of Science and Environmental Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China

    Yu Bon Man

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  1. Na Ding
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  3. Yuan Kang
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Ding, N., Wang, L., Kang, Y. et al. The comparison of transcriptomic response of green microalga Chlorella sorokiniana exposure to environmentally relevant concentration of cadmium(II) and 4-n-nonylphenol. Environ Geochem Health 42, 2881–2894 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-020-00526-1

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