Ahmad Shadi

Low molecular weight Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widely concerned due to their significant health risks such as carcinogenicity, reproductive- and endocrine-disrupting effects, immunotoxicity and neurotoxicity on human and marine animals. The induction pattern of xenobiotic metabolizing cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A1) gene was studied on 150 spotted scat Scatophagus argus (weight 32±3 g) captured from Northern Persian Gulf and exposed to 0, 5, 10, 15, 20 mg kg-1 of benzo[a]pyrene in 100L aquarium. The induction of CYP1A1 was quantified using reverse-transcription real-time PCR from treated fish liver samples. The results revealed that the expression of CYP1A1 gene in S. argus liver is time-dependent and directly correlated to the concentration of B[a] P, therefore the study provides the basis for further use of CYP1A1 of this commercially ad ecologically important species as a biomarker.