Effects of retene, an AhR agonistic PAH, on the transcriptome of the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) embryo heart

Retene is an aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activating PAH that causes dioxin-like developmental toxicity in fish embryos. The cardiovascular tissues seem to be the target tissues. To explore the effect of retene exposure on the hearts of developing rainbow trout embryos, a microarray study was conducted. The results serve as a basis for developing further hypothesis in the search for the candidate genes behind the physiological changes. Expression of eight genes was quantified by qPCR, confirming the results of the microarray. Gene expression was measured in the hearts of rainbow trout embryos after 1, 3, 7 and 14 days of exposure to 0 and 32 µg/l retene. Samples were pooled from 15 or 45 hearts, and there were three biological replicates for each exposure at each time point.