Synthetic fish metallothionein design as a potential tool for monitoring toxic metals in water

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 28; no. 8; pp. 9517 - 9528
• Main Authors: Nagamatsu, Paola Caroline, Vargas, Dámaso Ángel Rubio, Prodocimo, Maritana Mela, Opuskevitch, Iracema, Ferreira, Fernando C.A.S., Zanchin, Nilson, de Oliveira Ribeiro, Ciro Alberto, de Souza, Claudemir
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-02-2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animals; Antibodies; Applications programs; Aquatic ecosystems; Aquatic environment; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Biomarkers; Biomonitoring; Brazil; E coli; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecosystem; Ecosystems; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental impact; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental science; Fish; Freshwater fish; Heavy metals; Immunoassays; Metallothionein; Metallothionein - genetics; Metals; Oreochromis aureus; Oreochromis niloticus; Pimelodus maculatus; Polyclonal antibodies; Research Article; Salminus brasiliensis; Waste Water Technology; Water; Water Management; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water pollution; Water Pollution Control; Water resources; Brazil; Immunoassay; Fish; Biomarker; Toxic metal; Antibody; Metallothionein
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-11427-2

The diversity of aquatic ecosystems impacted by toxic metals is widely distributed throughout the world. The application of metallothionein (MT) as an early warning sign of metal exposure in freshwater fish is important in biomonitoring, but a more accessible, sensitive, safe, and efficient new methodological strategy is necessary. On this way, a fish MT synthetic gene from
Oreochromis aureos
was expressed in
Escherichia coli
to produce polyclonal antibodies against the protein. In the validation assays, these antibodies were able to detect hepatic MT from freshwater fishes
Oreochromis niloticus
,
Pimelodus maculatus
,
Prochilodus lineatus
, and
Salminus brasiliensis
showing a potential tool for toxic metals biomarker in biomonitoring of aquatic ecosystems. The current results showed the applicability of this molecule in quantitative immunoassays as a sensor for monitoring aquatic environments impacted by toxic metals. Due to the lack of methods focusing on metal pollution diagnostics in aquatic ecosystems, the current proposal revealed a promising tool to applications in biomonitoring programs of water resources, mainly in Brazil where the mining activity is very developed.