Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 2011-09-01

Time- and dose-dependent induction of HSP70 in Lemna minor exposed to different environmental stressors.

Stefan Tukaj, Joanna Bisewska, Katarzyna Roeske, Zbigniew Tukaj

Index: Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 87(3) , 226-30, (2011)

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine the influence of different stressors, including cadmium (heavy metal), anthracene (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-PAH) and chloridazon (herbicide), on population growth and biosynthesis of cytoplasmic HSP70 in Lemna minor (duckweed) in short (4 h)- and long (7 days)-term tests. A heat shock response was confirmed in Lemna exposed to high temperature: 35, 37.5, 40, or 42.5°C in short-term (4 h) treatments. The chemicals tested stimulated the biosynthesis of the cytoplasmic HSP70 protein in a concentration-dependent way (0.5-5 μM), higher in fronds exposed to lower doses of stressors. Additionally, production of HSP70 was greater after 4 h of incubation than after 7 days. The results suggest that HSP70 could be applied as a non-specific and sensitive detector of stress induced by different chemicals at concentrations below those that produce the type of response observed in classical cytotoxicity tests, such as growth inhibition.