Identification of candidate genes involved in responses of Arabidopsis to polychlorinated biphenyls based on microarray analysis

Jin, Xiao-Fen; Shuai, Jian-Jun; Peng, Ri-He; Zhu, Bo; Fu, Xiao-Yan; Tian, Yong-Sheng; Zhao, Wei; Han, Hong-Juan; Chen, Chen; Xu, Jing; Yao, Quan-Hong; Qu, Shen-Chun; Xiong, Ai-Sheng

Identification of candidate genes involved in responses of Arabidopsis to polychlorinated biphenyls based on microarray analysis

2011

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are considered as persistent organic pollutants. Their long term accumulation in soils and progressive bioaccumulation in the food chain makes PCBs a risk for human health. Phytoremediation, or the use of plants to enhance pollutant dissipation, is an efficient technique for the removal of organic compounds, including PCBs. However, the molecular basis of plant responses to PCBs has not been clearly elucidated. Here we studied the effects on growth and the transcriptional profile of Arabidopsis thaliana after exposure to 2,2′,3,3′-tetrachlorobiphenyl, a representative PCB. A comprehensive survey of global gene expression response to this PCB was done by using Arabidopsis (V4) gene expression microarray (4 × 44 K) to quantify the spatio-temporal variations in transcript abundance of 42,000 genes. The results revealed a coordinated induction or suppression of 146 or 148 genes, respectively. Of these, expression of 40 genes was validated by RT-PCR analysis. The functional classification of these PCB-responsive genes indicated their involvement in various metabolic pathways, such as ion transport, signal transduction, transcriptional regulation, and other processes related to growth and development.

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