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¹ College of Life Science and Technology, Southwest University for Nationalities, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, China
² Reproductive and endocrine laboratory, Chengdu Woman-Child Central Hospital, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610091, China DOI : 10.4194/1303-2712-v16_4_10 Viewed : 4354 - Downloaded : 3177 Cadmium (Cd) is a demonstrated pollutant in the aquatic environment. The bioaccumulation of Cd in fish affects the mitochondrial viability such as free radicals generation and lipid peroxidation. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) γ co-activator α (PGC-1α) is crucial for mitochondrial biogenesis and metabolism. However, only a few PGC-1α s have been identified in fish, and their functions remain obscure. In the present study, PGC-1α gene was cloned from Ctenopharyngodon idellus (grass carp). Sequencing analysis revealed that grass carp PGC-1α also contained a PPARγ binding site, a RNA recognition motif and several serine-arginine repeats like other PGC-1α s, suggesting a similar function of PGC- 1α in grass carp compared with that in mammals. PGC-1α expression was mainly observed in tissues with high content of mitochondria such as kidney and red muscle, then heart>brain> white muscle> liver > adipose. When the fish were exposed to cadmium for 24h, 5 μM cadmium promoted mitochondrial succinate dehydrogenase activity and PGC-1α expression enhancement. While 20 μM cadmium slightly raised the enzyme activity, which was consistent with PGC-1α expression increment. These results suggested that grass carp PGC-1α was involved in cadmium induced stress and it may be associated with mitochondrial function. Keywords : PGC-1α; grass carp; cadmium; succinate dehydrogenase; mitochondria