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Linking field-based metabolomics and chemical analyses to identify contaminants of emerging concern in the Great Lakes ecosystem
Citation:
Davis, J., D. Ekman, Q. Teng, G. Ankley, J. Berninger, J. Cavallin, K. Jensen, M. Kahl, A. Schroeder, Dan Villeneuve, Z. Jorgenson, K. Lee, AND Tim Collette. Linking field-based metabolomics and chemical analyses to identify contaminants of emerging concern in the Great Lakes ecosystem. SETAC North America 35th Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC, CANADA, November 09 - 13, 2014.
Impact/Purpose:
Presented at SETAC North America 35th Annual Meeting
Description:
Although research has focused on remediating ecological impacts of environmental contaminants on the Great Lakes and other aquatic ecosystems, there exists a continuing need for additional biologically-based tools for monitoring success. Profiling of endogenous metabolites (i.e., metabolomics) may be one such tool as it has proven effective for assessing biological impacts of contaminant exposure. Here, we present results from a large field-based study that cage-deployed fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) at 18 sampling locations throughout the Great Lakes basin, including locations near wastewater treatment plant outflows. We used 1H-NMR spectroscopy to measure endogenous polar metabolites in fish livers and analyzed the chemical composition of water samples collected in parallel at these sites (132 contaminants analyzed; 86 detected). Using partial least squares (PLS) regression, we compared concomitant changes in the relative abundances of hepatic metabolites and the chemical composition of water samples. This approach assessed whether metabolite profiles differed among sites and how differences may be related to contaminant levels. Results from this study indicated that profiles of endogenous metabolites from fish deployed near wastewater treatment plants were covarying with ca. 45 contaminants. Moreover, the PLS regression identified ca. 50% of the detected contaminants as not being significantly related to metabolite changes in either males or females, suggesting that they were not eliciting a biological response at these sites. Such results indicate that metabolite profiling of caged fathead minnows may be an effective tool for biologically-based exposure monitoring of aquatic ecosystems and discerning those chemicals that may not be at biologically-relevant levels in these aquatic ecosystems.
