Heterologous microarray hybridization used to differential gene expression profiling in Benzo[a]pyrene exposed marine medaka

Abstract

Differential gene expression profiling was carried out in the hepatic tissue of marine medaka fish, Oryzias javanicus, after exposure to benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), by heterologous hybridization using a medaka cDNA microarray. Forty kinds of differentially expressed candidate genes, with 24 induced and 16 repressed in their gene expressions (P < 0.01), which were associated with cell cycle, development, endocrine/reproduction, immune, metabolism, nucleic acid/protein binding, signal transduction, and non-categorized. The presumptive physiological changes induced by B[a]P exposure could be deduced after considering the biological function of each gene candidates. The identified genes could be used as molecular biomarkers for biological responses to B[a]P contamination in an aquatic environment.