Metallothionein coding sequence identification and seasonal mRNA expression of detoxification genes in the bivalve Corbicula fluminea

The aim of this study was to identify a metallothionein (MT) coding sequence from the freshwater bivalve Corbicula fluminea and to measure the seasonal transcriptional pattern of MT in parallel with several detoxification genes: superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione S-transferases (GST) and glutathione peroxidases (GPx), in the digestive gland and the gills of this bivalve during a 1-year period. We identified a C fluminea MT complete cDNA sequence using RT-PCR and RACE-PCR. The amino acid sequence deduced from the coding sequence encodes for a protein of 73 amino acids containing 21 cysteine residues. This protein exhibits high identities and similarities with the MT sequences of numerous bivalves. MT, SOD, CAT, pi-GST and Se-GPx expression patterns did not exhibit major seasonal variations. A slight increase of MT was observed in July. Therefore, the mRNA expression of these five genes could be used as biomarkers for monitoring studies. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.