Differential gene expression in the brain of Cuvier, Sebastiscus marmoratus, in response to exposure to tributyltin

Tributyltin (TBT), a ubiquitous marine environmental contaminant, has been reported to affect functioning of the central nervous system. However, the mechanism of its neurotoxicity remains unknown. The effects of TBT exposure on the Sebastiscus marmoratus were investigated using a suppression subtractive hybridisation (SSH) combined with mirror orientation selection (MOS) method. A total of 50 candidate clones from SSH libraries were picked for sequencing and homology searching. The results showed that 23 unique differentially expressed genes were obtained, including 11 up-regulated and 12 down-regulated fragments. The functions with which they are associated include energy-related metabolism, polypeptide translation and location, mitosis and cell proliferation. Expression of 11 candidate genes was analysed in brain by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR. The present study provided a basis for investigating the response of fish to TBT exposure and allowed the characterisation of new potential neurotoxic biomarkers of TBT contamination in seawater.