Understanding butachlor toxicity in Aulosira fertilissima using physiological, biochemical and proteomic approaches

The present study examines butachlor-induced inhibition of growth, photosynthetic pigments such as chlorophyll a, phycocyanin, allophycocyanin, phycoerythrin, photosystems I and II, whole chain electron transport, oxygen evolution, carbon fixation, ATP content, total thiol and glutathione contents of Aulosira fertilissima. For ascertaining if above mentioned changes are due to disturbance in plasma membrane integrity or proteins, fatty acid profiling and proteomics were done. Gas chromatographic (GC) analysis of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) depicted a decrease in α-linolenic acid (C18:3) which appears responsible for plasma membrane instability. Enhanced lipid peroxidation and electrolyte leakage further attested the butachlor-induced cell damage. Butachlor-treated Aulosira exhibited significant and reproducible alternations in eight proteins as assessed by 2DE and LC–MS analysis of which phycocyanin α-chain, allophycocyanin β-chain, C-phycocyanin α-subunit, ATP synthase β-chain and FBP aldolase were associated with photosynthesis and respiration, peroxiredoxin with antioxidative defense system and GroES and NusB with protein folding and transcription termination respectively. However, a prolonged (15 d) butachlor treatment of Aulosira downregulated all the proteins except NusB. Reverse transcription PCR of the protein genes affirmed that aforesaid proteins were the gene products not artifacts. Downregulated GroES and over expressed NusB are critical proteins for cell death.