Exposure to the environmentally-persistent insecticide chlordecone induces detoxification genes and causes polyp bail-out in the coral P. damicornis

We found eight transcripts related to the P450-1A or P450-3A families that were specifically overexpressed in response to chlordecone. There was also sequential overexpression of transcripts involved in apoptosis and degradation of cellular matrix proteins. Finally, we report the first observation of chlordecone-induced P. damicornis polyp bail-out. Altogether, these results strongly suggest that apoptosis and expression of genes belonging to the cathepsin family are sequentially regulated processes leading to coenosarc dissociation and loss.