Selected Natural Humic Materials Induce and Char Substrates Repress a Gene in Caenorhabditis Elegans Homolog to Human Anticancer P53
Keywords:
Caenorhabditis elegans, transcription, char substrates, tropical humic substances, cep-1, p53, carcinogenic propertyAbstract
Humic substances (HSs) and char substrates are major carbon compartments of contrasting origin, the latter being increasingly applied as an amendment of sandy soils. HSs are known to interact with exposed organisms and to induce transcriptionally controlled responses. Intrigued by anti-carcinogenic properties of HSs in human cell cultures, we checked whether tropical HSs from two Brazilian coastal lagoons modulate the gene (cep-1) in the invertebrate model Caenorhabditis elegans, which is a homolog to the human key anticancer gene p53. The modulation of this gene can also be indicative of effects caused by char substrates, because this carbon compartment originates from burning or pyrolysis and is suspected to contain non-natural xenobiotics. We tested Terra Preta soils from central Amazonia and a hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) product from poplar wood. HSs and char substrates modulated the cep-1 gene, but in contrasting modes. Whereas HSs significantly induced it, the char substrates mainly repressed it. Our study begs for a more comprehensive effect evaluation when applying char substrates as soil amendments. It is recommended to include impact studies on non-target organisms.
Permanent URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20000706
