Quantitative proteomic analysis of nile tilapia brain following sub-chronically exposed to toxic cyanobacteria microcystis aeruginosa

In the present study, we investigated the effects of Microcytis on Nile tilapia brain. Male Nile tilapia were exposed to lyophilized Microcytis aeruginosa for 28 days. An isobaric Tags for Relative and Absolute Quantitation (iTRAQ) approach coupled with nano high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (nano HPLC-MS/MS) analysis was employed to detect and identify the differential expressed proteins. A total of 49 proteins were successfully identified and categorized into functional classes that mostly included metabolism, ubiquitin-proteasome, signal transduction and transporting, indicating that Microcytis toxicity in the fish brain is complex and diverse. Our proteomic analyses added new perspective to Microcytis neurotoxicity in aquatic organisms.