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Saturday May 16, 2020
AUTHORS:
Cameron Coyle, Malinda P. Westendorf, and Dr. Scott V. Truksa
FACULTY: Dr. Mark P. Gunderson
DEPARTMENT: Biology
Aluminum is the most abundant metal in the Earth’s crust. Aluminum toxicity depends on certain exposure factors including dosage, duration, and mode of contact. In the environment, aluminum can be released from the soil under acidic conditions. It is also commonly found in foods and personal care products that include food additives, antiperspirants, cosmetics, and certain medications. Other metals have been shown to affect the functioning of certain enzymes required for detoxification of environmental toxicants. In this study, we examined the regulation of the phase II detoxification enzyme glutathione S-transferase (GST) by aluminum in our model species, signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus). Crayfish were injected with aluminum (0.00375, 0.0075, 0.015 ug/g) and dissected after 72 hours. We expected aluminum to elicit a dose dependent inhibition of GST due to either competitive, non-competitive binding, or changing gene expression. From this work, we learned that aluminum does not modulate the phase II detoxification pathway and therefore we can conclude that this specific detoxification enzyme is not affected by aluminum at this particular dosage. This project was funded by a NIH-INBRE research grant.
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