The effect of Hg2+ on the bioluminescence of Photobacterium leiognathi. (9th July 2012) - Li, Ming
ABSTRACT: Photobacteria were used as test objects for rapid monitoring of ecotoxicants. Specific inhibitory effects of Hg 2+ on bioluminescence and cell growth as well as the lux gene expression of Photobacterium leiognathi were studied. The 3‐(4, 5‐Dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2, 5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide reduction assay was used to evaluate cellular proliferation and mortality. The luminescent inhibition effect on P. leiognathi cells was found to increase as cellular mortality increased; y = 0.744x ‐ 4.8916, R² = 0.9794. However, this trend was not observed in cell growth processes. Quantitation of lux mRNAs by semi‐quantitative RT‐qPCR indicated that increases and decreases in luciferase mRNA integral level coincided with changes in luminescence intensity (R 2 = 0.93). Addition of Hg 2+ changed luminescence but without concomitant changes in extractable luciferase activity. Nevertheless, the presence of Hg 2+ changed lux gene expression. This phenomenon requires further research. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.