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Metalloproteomic Strategies for Identifying Proteins as Biomarkers of Mercury Exposure in Serrasalmus rhombeus from the Amazon Region

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Abstract

This manuscript describes the results of a metalloproteomic study of mercury in samples of muscle and liver tissue of the species Serrasalmus rhombeus, popularly known as black piranha and characterised as the most voracious and aggressive predator in the Brazilian Amazon. The metalloproteomic study involved using two-dimensional electrophoresis (2D PAGE) to fractionate the proteome of the muscle and liver tissue samples, along with atomic absorption spectrometry in a graphite furnace (GFAAS) to identify mercury associated with protein SPOTs and mass spectrometry with electrospray ionisation (ESI-MS/MS) to characterise the mercury-binding proteins. The protein SPOTs characterised showed concentrations in the order of 156 mg kg−1, which ranks as the highest concentrations of mercury determined so far in metalloproteomic studies involving fish species in the Amazon region. Based on FASTA sequences of proteins characterised by ESI-MS/MS, bioinformatics studies were performed that allowed identifying nine proteins with characteristics of biomarkers of mercury exposure. Of those proteins, glutathione peroxidase stands out as an enzyme of great importance in the antioxidant defence of organisms subjected to oxidative stress caused by xenobiotics.

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Funding

The authors received FAPESP process nos. 2013/21297-1, 2016/19404-2; CNPq process nos. 304768/2018-9, 404485/2016-2; and the NATURAE Environmental Consultancy and to the Sustainable Energy P&D Project of Brazil S.A. (6631-0001/2012 Contract Jirau 004/13). This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Rua Prof R. Dr. Valter Maurício Corrêa, s/n, Botucatu, SP, 18.618-681, Brazil

    João Vitor de Queiroz, Renata Aparecida Martins, Andrey Sávio de Almeida Assunção & Pedro de Magalhães Padilha

  2. Venom and Venomous Animals Study Center (CEVAP) of São Paulo State University (UNESP), Rua José Barbosa de Barros, 1780 - Vila Ema, Botucatu, SP, 18.610-307, Brazil

    Bruna Cavecci-Mendonça

  3. Institute of Biosciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Rua Prof. Dr. Antonio Celso Wagner Zanin, 250, Botucatu, SP, 18.618-689, Brazil

    Bruna Cavecci-Mendonça, José Cavalcante Souza Vieira, Nubya Gonçalves Cavallini & Pedro de Magalhães Padilha

  4. Faculty of Science and Engineering, São Paulo State University (UNESP), R. Domingos da Costa Lopes, 780 - Jardim Itaipu, Tupã, SP, 17.602-496, Brazil

    Felipe André dos Santos

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  1. João Vitor de Queiroz
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  2. Bruna Cavecci-Mendonça
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  3. José Cavalcante Souza Vieira
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  4. Renata Aparecida Martins
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  7. Felipe André dos Santos
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  8. Pedro de Magalhães Padilha
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Correspondence to Bruna Cavecci-Mendonça or Pedro de Magalhães Padilha.

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The protocol and ethics of this study were approved by the Animal Use Ethics Committee—AUEC, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechny—UNESP, protocol 110/2015.

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de Queiroz, J.V., Cavecci-Mendonça, B., Vieira, J.C.S. et al. Metalloproteomic Strategies for Identifying Proteins as Biomarkers of Mercury Exposure in Serrasalmus rhombeus from the Amazon Region. Biol Trace Elem Res 199, 712–720 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-020-02178-9

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