Isoenzymes and protein polymorphism in Blaps polycresta and Trachyderma hispida (Forsskål, 1775) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) as biomarkers for ceramic industrial pollution.

The expression levels of Esterase Isoenzyme and total soluble protein fractionation were studied in two coleopteran insects Blaps polycresta and Trachyderma hispida to evaluate the possible hazards from ceramic and plastic factories in the Khorshed Region, East of Alexandria, Egypt. Two insect collection sites were selected. The first site was the garden of the Faculty of Science, Moharram Bek, Alexandria University, which is considered a non-polluted site, and Khorshed district, considered as the polluted site. Percentages of heavy metals were estimated using SEM-X-ray microanalysis of soft tissues of both sexes of the two coleopteran insects. Esterase Isoenzymes were found to be overexpressed in B. Polycresta but not T. hispida. Female B. polycresta from the polluted site exhibited overexpression of the second and third loci. Furthermore, the females were found to be more affected than males, which only showed the overexpression of the second loci. T. hispida (females and males) collected from the reference site were found to have increased esterase activity compared with those sampled from the polluted site. The Snake-Skin™ Dialysis tubing technique, used for optimizing the protein extraction method, reflected the highest quantified proteins compared to other, traditional methods. SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis of the whole-body protein reflected definite variations between T. hispida and B. polycresta in fraction number and activity at the two sites. Varied expression levels for metallothionein (MT) heavy metal resistance proteins for B. polycresta and T. hispida were also detected in the study. Based on these results, we suggest that biochemical biomarkers could infer environmental hazards, B. polycresta and T. hispida are successful biomarkers for heavy metal pollution.