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Urine-based Metabolomics with Fish: Use of Repeat Sampling (of an individual) to Non-lethally Assess Temporal Effects of Contaminants
Citation:
Skelton, D., Tim Collette, C. LaLone, G. Ankley, Dan Villeneuve, AND D. Ekman. Urine-based Metabolomics with Fish: Use of Repeat Sampling (of an individual) to Non-lethally Assess Temporal Effects of Contaminants. Presented at 34th Annual SETAC North America, Nashville, TN, November 17 - 21, 2013.
Impact/Purpose:
Presented at SETAC North America 34th Annual Meeting, Nov 17-21 2013 in Nashville, TN.
Description:
Environmental metabolomics is a rapidly developing field for assessing the global metabolite profiles of tissues and/or biofluids from ecologically relevant organisms to identify biomarkers of exposure to various stressors, elucidate a chemical’s mode(s)-of-action, and decipher the pathogenic pathway(s) of diseases. Urine is often an ideal biomedium for metabolomics because, compared to other tissues and biofluids, it can be easily and non-invasively collected, requires less complex processing, and allows for repeat sampling of an individual over time to monitor temporal responses. Indeed, urine metabolomics has been utilized in numerous human and rodent studies to distinguish between healthy and disease status, identify novel biomarkers of disease, and map toxicity pathways. Despite the wealth of information that can be obtained from urine metabolomics, it has been largely under-utilized in environmental studies using fish as a model organism. Urine collection in fish poses the potential challenges of low urine volume and low abundances of metabolites. Furthermore, it is unknown how effects from handling the fish (to repeatedly collect urine) might manifest in the urinary metabolome. To address these issues, we investigated the efficacy of using repeat sampling of urine as a biofluid for environmental metabolomics studies. Fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) were exposed to the model anti-androgen vinclozolin for 14 days with serial urine sampling of each individual every 48 hours. Repeat urine sampling from control fish was also conducted in this fashion. Urine samples were analyzed via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. We found that the urine metabolite profile of control fish did not vary significantly over the course of the study, indicating that the repeated handling of an individual fish for collecting urine did not significantly impact the urinary metabolome. Additionally, we were able to detect temporal effects in the vinclozolin-exposed fish and identify the corresponding key metabolites that varied over time. The results of our study showed the efficacy of repeat sampling of urine as a biofluid for environmental metabolomics using fish, and provide validation for future studies of this type.
