Common pattern of gene expression in response to hypoxia or cadmium in the gills of the European glass eel (Anguilla anguilla)

• Main Authors: Pierron, F., Baudrimont, M., Gonzalez, R., Bourdineaud, J.P., Elie, Pierre, Massabuau, J.C.
• Other Authors: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Ecosystèmes estuariens et poissons migrateurs amphihalins (UR EPBX), Centre national du machinisme agricole, du génie rural, des eaux et forêts (CEMAGREF)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2007
• Subjects: [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Anguilla anguilla
• Online Access: https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-02589169

[Departement_IRSTEA]MA [TR1_IRSTEA]QSA / DYMECO International audience European eel (Anguilla anguilla) populations are in decline. Glass eel recruitment has fallen 10-fold since the early 1980s. Estuaries play a fundamental role in the life history of eels because glass eels must pass through them to reach freshwater ecosystems. Unfortunately, because of their geographical position at the upstream basin slopes, estuaries accumulate metals like cadmium and are important sites of hypoxia events. In this context, we studied the effect of the oxygen level on the ventilation of the glass eel. In parallel, glass eels were submitted to different dissolved cadmium concentrations (0, 2, and 10 mu g L-1) under two oxygen levels (normoxia P-O2 = 21 kPa and Hypoxia P-O2 = 6 kPa). The expression level of various genes involved in the mitochondrial respiratory chain, in the cellular response to metal and oxidative stresses, was investigated. Our results showed that hypoxia enhances (1) ventilation of the postlarval stage and (2) Cd accumulation in gills only at the lowest metal water concentration tested (2 mu g Cd L-1). At the gene level, Cd exposure mimics the effect of hypoxia since we observed a decrease in expression of genes involved in the respiratory chain and in the defense against oxidative stress.