Assays of polychlorinated biphenyl congeners and co-contaminated heavy metals in the transgenic Arabidopsis plants carrying the recombinant guinea pig aryl hydrocarbon receptor-mediated β-glucuronidase reporter gene expression system.

The transgenic Arabidopsis plant XgD2V11-6 carrying the recombinant guinea pig (g) aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)-mediated β-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene expression system was examined for assay of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners and co-contaminated heavy metals. When the transgenic Arabidopsis plants were treated with PCB126 (toxic equivalency factor; TEF: 0.1) and PCB169 (TEF: 0.03), the GUS activity of the whole plants was increased significantly. After treatment with PCB80 (TEF: 0), the GUS activity was nearly the same level as that treated with 0.1% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) as a vehicle control. After exposure to a 1:1 mixture of PCB126 and PCB169, the GUS activity was increased additively. However, after exposure to a mixture of PCB126 and PCB80, the GUS activity was lower than that of the treatment with PCB126 alone. Thus, PCB80 seemed to be an antagonist towards AhR. When the transgenic plants were treated with each of the heavy metals Fe, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb together with PCB126, Cd and Pb increased the PCB126-induced GUS activity. On the other hand, Fe, Cu and Zn did not affect the PCB126-induced GUS activity. In the presence of the biosurfactant mannosylerythritol lipid-B (MEL-B) and the carrier protein bovine serum albumin (BSA), the PCB126-induced GUS activity was increased, but the Cd-assisted PCB126-induced GUS activity was not affected. Thus, MEL-B and BSA seemed to increase uptake and transport of PCB126, respectively.