Influence of Cobalt and Zinc Exposure on mRNA Expression Profiles of Metallothionein and Cytocrome P450 in Rainbow Trout

The present research aims to evaluate the effects of cobalt and zinc exposure of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) on metallothioneins and cytocrome P450. Mature rainbow trouts were exposed to 10 mg/L CoCl2.6H(2)O and 1 mg/L ZnSO4.7H(2)O. After 6, 12, 24, and 48 h of treatment, expressions of muscle MT-A, MT-B, and CYP P4501A1 mRNAs were measured by means of quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. During the exposure experiments, no mortalities occurred. We observed that expression levels of all genes increased with exposure time. Since the organism has not learned how to completely dispose of heavy metals and tends to bioaccumulate them, our results indicate that cobalt and zinc exposure may result in accumulation of the non-eliminated metals which may lead to fish death.