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Taxonomic relevance of an adverse outcome pathway network considering apis and non-apis bees
Citation:
LaLone, C. Taxonomic relevance of an adverse outcome pathway network considering apis and non-apis bees. SETAC North America, Minneapolis, MN, November 12 - 16, 2017.
Impact/Purpose:
Honey bees are classified as Apis bees and have been at the forefront of scientific and public concerns regarding chemical stressors leading to colony death/failure. Recently, an effort was undertaken to understand the potential for chemical disruption of bee biology leading to the adverse effect of bee death and further colony death. This effort to capture biological pathway information primarily focused on honey bees. However, there is also a concern for non-Apis bees, such as bumble bees and solitary bees, in regard to chemicals impacting their biology and therefore ability to thrive. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has developed a computer tool called Sequence Alignment to Predict Across Species Susceptibility (SeqAPASS) that allows for the examination of similarity between bee species at a molecular level. This evaluation with SeqAPASS can be considered a starting point for understanding if honey bee biology when impacted by a chemical stressor is similar or different than that of other bees. Evidence of similar biology between species can be useful in understanding strategies for minimizing the impact of chemical stressors to both Apis and non-Apis bees. Differences between species indicate that further research may be needed to understand impacts of chemical stressors to non-Apis bees.
Description:
Product Description: The US EPA is developing more cost effective and efficient ways to evaluate chemical safety using high throughput and computationally based testing strategies. An important component of this approach is the ability to translate chemical effects on fundamental biological processes like enzyme activities, gene expression, and basic cellular functions into what those effects mean to human health or ecosystem sustainability. The adverse outcome pathway framework was developed to facilitate that translation. Recently an AOP network was developed to understand impacts of chemical stressors on honey bee colony death. A component of developing AOPs includes defining the taxonomic domain of applicability. Therefore, the current work focuses on demonstrating how currently available tools and information can be used to inform the taxonomic relevance of the AOPs when considering non-Apis bees. Abstract: Defining the taxonomic relevance of an adverse outcome pathway (AOP) can aid in extrapolation of knowledge from tested model organism to other non-tested species. Recently an adverse outcome pathway network was developed describing the linkages from activation of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in honey bees to colony death/failure. Typically, AOPs are developed with knowledge about, and empirical data from, a single, or handful, of species with uncertainty as to how broadly such pathway-based knowledge can be extrapolated to other species. In describing this AOP network, which primarily focused on honey bees in its development, we begin to evaluate taxonomic relevance in the context of plausible similarity or differences in key events and key event relationships considering non-Apis bees. This evaluation of taxonomic relevance considers, where possible, structural, functional, and modulatory conservation across species. Therefore, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Sequence Alignment to Predict Across Species Susceptibility (SeqAPASS) tool was employed to evaluate structural similarity across bee species where proteins were identified as critical to the KE, demonstrating a high degree of conservation at the molecular initiating event and early KEs in the AOP. Additionally, at each level of biological organization, other non-molecular considerations can be used to inform taxonomic relevance, including as examples thermoregulation or foraging strategies, as well as colony structure (or lack there-of) and should therefore be described as a component of the evaluation. Initial efforts in defining the taxonomic domain of applicability relative to chemical stressor perturbation of this AOP network may provide useful insights for protecting or monitoring for adverse effects in non-Apis bees. The contents of this presentation neither constitute nor necessarily reflect US EPA policy.