Exposure to fluorescent light triggers down regulation of genes involved with mitotic progression in Xiphophorus skin

We report RNA-Seq results from skin of X. maculatus Jp 163 B after exposure to various doses of “cool white” fluorescent light (FL). We show that FL exposure incites a genetic transcriptional response in skin nearly as great as observed for UVB exposure; however, the gene sets modulated due to exposure to the two light sources are quite different. Known light responsive genes involved in maintaining circadian cycling (e.g., clock, cry2a, cry1b, per1b, per2, per3, and arntl1a) exhibited expected shifts in transcriptional expression upon FL exposure. Exposure to FL also resulted in down-regulated transcription of many genes involved with cell cycle progression (e.g., cdc20, cdc45, cdca7b, plk1, cdk1, ccnb-3, and cdca7a) and chromosome segregation (e.g., cenpe, cenpf, cenpi, cenpk, cenpo, cenpp, and cenpu; cep70; knstrm, kntc, mcm2, mcm5; smc2). In addition, several DNA replication and recombination repair genes (e.g., pola1, pole, rec52, rad54l, rpa1, and parpbp) exhibit reduced expression in FL exposed X. maculatus skin. Some genes down modulated by FL are known to be associated with DNA repair and human diseases (e.g., atm2, brip1, fanc1, fancl, and xrcc4). The overall suppression of genes involved with mitotic progression in the skin of adult fish is consistent with entry into the light phase of the circadian cycle. Current efforts are aimed at determining specific wavelengths that may lead to differential expression among the many genes affected by fluorescent light exposure.