JOURNAL OF ANIMAL AND VETERINARY ADVANCES, cilt.10, sa.25, ss.3334-3339, 2011 (SCI-Expanded)
In this study, the acute effects of copper (CuSO4 center dot 5H(2)O) on the expression of Growth Hormone-I (GH-I) and Insulin like Growth Factors I and II (IGF-I and IGF-II) were investigated in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) muscle tissue. For this purpose, rainbow trout were exposed to 100 mu g L-1 (Sublethal concentration) copper sulfate in moderately hard freshwater. After 6, 12, 24 and 48 h of treatment, expression of white muscle GH-I, IGF-I and IGF-II mRNAs were measured by means of quantitative real-time PCR. During the exposure experiments, no mortalities occurred. All mRNA levels significantly decreased after copper administration (p<0.05). The results indicate that short term copper exposure suppresses the mRNA expression levels of GH-I, IGF-I and IGF-II in rainbow trout muscles.