Use of GC × GC/TOF-MS and LC/TOF-MS for metabolomic analysis of Hyalella azteca chronically exposed to atrazine and its primary metabolite, desethylatrazine

Plant Metabolomics: Current Initiatives and Future Prospects

Plant metabolomics is a rapidly advancing field of plant sciences and systems biology. It involves comprehensive analyses of small molecules (metabolites) in plant tissues and cells. These metabolites include a wide range of compounds, such as sugars, amino acids, organic acids, secondary metabolites (e.g., alkaloids and flavonoids), lipids, and more. Metabolomics allows an understanding of the functional roles of specific metabolites in plants' physiology, development, and responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. It can lead to the identification of metabolites linked with specific traits or functions. Plant metabolic networks and pathways can be better understood with the help of metabolomics. Researchers can determine how plants react to environmental cues or genetic modifications by examining how metabolite profiles change under various crop stages. Metabolomics plays a major role in crop improvement and biotechnology. Integrating metabolomics data with other omics data (genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics) provides a more comprehensive perspective of plant biology. This systems biology approach enables researchers to understand the complex interactions within organisms.

Discrimination of Adzuki Bean (Vigna angularis) Geographical Origin by Targeted and Non-Targeted Metabolite Profiling with Gas Chromatography Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

As international food trade increases, consumers are becoming increasingly interested in food safety and authenticity, which are linked to geographical origin. Adzuki beans (Vigna angularis) are cultivated worldwide, but there are no tools for accurately discriminating their geographical origin. Thus, our study aims to develop a method for discriminating the geographical origin of adzuki beans through targeted and non-targeted metabolite profiling with gas chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry combined with multivariate analysis. Orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis showed clear discrimination between adzuki beans cultivated in Korea and China. Non-targeted metabolite profiling showed better separation than targeted profiling. Furthermore, citric acid and malic acid were the most notable metabolites for discriminating adzuki beans cultivated in Korea and China. The geographical discrimination method combining non-targeted metabolite profiling and pareto-scaling showed excellent predictability (Q2 = 0.812). Therefore, it is a suitable prediction tool for the discrimination of geographical origin and is expected to be applicable to the geographical authentication of adzuki beans.

Sublethal metabolic responses to contaminant mixture toxicity in Daphnia magna

Anthropogenic activity is increasing the presence of contaminants that enter waterways through wastewater effluent and urban and/or agricultural runoff, generally in complex mixtures. Depending on the mode of action of the individual contaminant within the mixture, toxicity can occur due to contaminants having similar or dissimilar modes of action. However, it is unknown how the metabolome responds to sublethal contaminant mixtures in the keystone genus Daphnia. In the present study we examined D. magna metabolic responses to acute sublethal exposure of propranolol, carbamazepine, and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) as well as in binary (propranolol-carbamazepine, propranolol-PFOS, carbamazepine-PFOS) and tertiary mixtures (carbamazepine-propranolol-PFOS), all at 10% of the median lethal concentration of the population (LC50). The metabolome was measured using ¹ H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and characterized using principal component analysis, regression analysis, and fold changes in metabolite relative to the unexposed (control) group. The averaged principal component analysis scores plots revealed that carbamazepine-PFOS and carbamazepine-propranolol-PFOS exposures were significantly different from the control treatment. After normalizing the toxicity of each contaminant, we found that some metabolites responded monotonically, whereas others displayed a nonmonotonic response with increasing toxicity units. The single contaminant exposures and 2 binary mixtures (propranolol-carbamazepine, and propranolol-PFOS) resulted in minimal changes in the identified metabolites, whereas the carbamazepine-PFOS and carbamazepine-propranolol-PFOS displayed increases in several amino acid metabolites and decreases in glucose. Overall, our results highlight the sensitivity of the metabolome to distinguish the composition of the contaminant mixtures, with some mixtures displaying heightened responses versus others. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:2448-2457. © 2018 SETAC.

Influence of exposure to pesticide mixtures on the metabolomic profile in post-metamorphic green frogs (Lithobates clamitans)

Pesticide use in agricultural areas requires the application of numerous chemicals to control target organisms, leaving non-target organisms at risk. The present study evaluates the hepatic metabolomic profile of one group of non-target organisms, amphibians, after exposure to a single pesticide and pesticide mixtures. Five common-use pesticide active ingredients were used in this study, three herbicides (atrazine, metolachlor and 2,4-d), one insecticide (malathion) and one fungicide (propiconazole). Juvenile green frogs (Lithobates clamitans) were reared for 60-90days post-metamorphosis then exposed to a single pesticide or a combination of pesticides at the labeled application rate on soil. Amphibian livers were excised for metabolomic analysis and pesticides were quantified for whole body homogenates. Based on the current study, metabolomic profiling of livers support both individual and interactive effects where pesticide exposures altered biochemical processes, potentially indicating a different response between active ingredients in pesticide mixtures, among these non-target species. Amphibian metabolomic response is likely dependent on the pesticides present in each mixture and their ability to perturb biochemical networks, thereby confounding efforts with risk assessment.

Analysis of earthworm sublethal toxic responses to atrazine exposure using 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics

Atrazine toxicity to earthworms is still not fully understood, particularly at sublethal concentrations. Because of the ubiquity of atrazine in the environment, it is imperative to understand the impacts of atrazine presence to soil-dwelling organisms. To examine this in detail, we used ¹ H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics to elucidate earthworm (Eisenia fetida) responses after 48 h of atrazine exposure in contact tests. Earthworms were exposed to 4 sublethal concentrations of 362.4, 181.2, 90.6, and 45.3 ng/cm² , which correspond to 1/8th, 1/16th, 1/32nd, and 1/64th of the median lethal concentration (LC50) values, respectively. After exposure, polar metabolites were isolated from earthworm tissues and analyzed using ¹ H NMR spectroscopy. Sublethal atrazine exposure induced a nonmonotonic response with respect to exposure concentration and caused an overall suppression in earthworm metabolism. Maltose, fumarate, malate, threonine/lactate, adenosine-5'-triphosphate (ATP), betaine, scyllo-inositol, glutamate, arginine, and glutamine were the metabolites identified as most sensitive to atrazine exposure. These observed fluctuations in the metabolic profile suggest that atrazine reduced ATP synthesis and negatively impacted the health of earthworms after acute sublethal exposure. Our study also demonstrates the utility of NMR-based metabolomics for the basic assessment of sublethal toxicity, which can then be used for more targeted approaches with other molecular techniques. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:473-480. © 2017 SETAC.

Biomarker analysis of American toad (Anaxyrus americanus) and grey tree frog (Hyla versicolor) tadpoles following exposure to atrazine

The objective of the current study was to use a biomarker-based approach to investigate the influence of atrazine exposure on American toad (Anaxyrus americanus) and grey tree frog (Hyla versicolor) tadpoles. Atrazine is one of the most frequently detected herbicides in environmental matrices throughout the United States. In surface waters, it has been found at concentrations from 0.04-2859μg/L and thus presents a likely exposure scenario for non-target species such as amphibians. Studies have examined the effect of atrazine on the metamorphic parameters of amphibians, however, the data are often contradictory. Gosner stage 22-24 tadpoles were exposed to 0 (control), 10, 50, 250 or 1250μg/L of atrazine for 48h. Endogenous polar metabolites were extracted and analyzed using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Statistical analyses of the acquired spectra with machine learning classification models demonstrated identifiable changes in the metabolomic profiles between exposed and control tadpoles. Support vector machine models with recursive feature elimination created a more efficient, non-parametric data analysis and increased interpretability of metabolomic profiles. Biochemical fluxes observed in the exposed groups of both A. americanus and H. versicolor displayed perturbations in a number of classes of biological macromolecules including fatty acids, amino acids, purine nucleosides, pyrimidines, and mono- and di-saccharides. Metabolomic pathway analyses are consistent with findings of other studies demonstrating disruption of amino acid and energy metabolism from atrazine exposure to non-target species.

Endocrine Disruption in the Omics Era: New Views, New Hazards, New Approaches

The genome revolution has brought about a complete change on our view of biological systems. The quantitative determination of changes in all the major molecular components of the living cells, the "omics" approach, opened whole new fields for all health sciences, including toxicology. Endocrine disruption,i.e., the capacity of anthropogenic pollutants to alter the hormonal balance of the organisms, is one of the fields of Ecotoxicology in which omics has a relevant role. In the first place, the discovery of scores of potential targets in the genome of almost any Metazoan species studied so far, each of them being a putative candidate for interaction with endocrine disruptors. In addition, the understanding that ligands, receptors, and their physiological functions suffered fundamental variations during animal evolution makes it necessary to assess disruption effects separately for each major taxon. Fortunately, the same deal of knowledge on genes and genomes powered the development of new high-throughput techniques and holistic approaches. Genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and others, together with appropriate prediction and modeling tools, will mark the future of endocrine disruption assessment both for wildlife and humans.

Environmental hormones and their impacts on sex differentiation in fathead minnows

Runoff from lands fertilized with animal manure from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) is a source of hormones to surface water. In this study we tested the hypothesis that larval fathead minnows exposed to sex steroids singly or in a "typical" CAFO mixture during sex differentiation would respond with changes in the expression of a set of target genes, leading to gonadal abnormalities later in life. In the first experiment, a static daily-renewal system was used to expose larvae during the period of 10-20 days post-hatch (dph) to either 5 ng/L 17β-trenbolone (17β-TRB) or 5 ng/L 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2). In a second experiment, fish were exposed from 0 to 45 dph in a flow-through system to a CAFO mixture composed of steroids and degradates (2-16 ng/L), atrazine and degradates (15-250 ng/L), and nitrate (3-11 mg/L). In the single hormone experiment, expression of genes involved in steroidogenesis (cyp19a, cyp17, and star) was decreased in females. In contrast, no differences in gene expression were observed in fish exposed to the CAFO mixture. However, the majority (84%) of treated males had testes containing an ovarian cavity, indicative of feminization, compared to 0% in the control males. Overall, our results show that: (1) changes in gene expression after single hormone exposures are sex-specific, with females more responsive than males; and (2) phenotypic alterations in testicular development can be elicited by a simulated "CAFO" mixture when fathead minnows are exposed during the first 45 days of development. More research is needed to further discern the complex response of fish to steroid mixtures, especially those associated with runoff from land-applied CAFO waste.

Usefulness of bovine and porcine IVM/IVF models for reproductive toxicology

Women presenting fertility problems are often helped by Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ART), such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) programs. However, in many cases the etiology of the in/subfertility remains unknown even after treatment. Although several aspects should be considered when assisting a woman with problems to conceive, a survey on the patients' exposure to contaminants would help to understand the cause of the fertility problem, as well as to follow the patient properly during IVF. Daily exposure to toxic compounds, mainly environmental and dietary ones, may result in reproductive impairment. For instance, because affects oocyte developmental competence. Many of these compounds, natural or synthetic, are endocrine disruptors or endocrine active substances that may impair reproduction. To understand the risks and the mechanism of action of such chemicals in human cells, the use of proper in vitro models is essential. The present review proposes the bovine and porcine models to evaluate toxic compounds on oocyte maturation, fertilization and embryo production in vitro. Moreover, we discuss here the species-specific differences when mice, bovine and porcine are used as models for human.

Short-term oral atrazine exposure alters the plasma metabolome of male C57BL/6 mice and disrupts α-linolenate, tryptophan, tyrosine and other major metabolic pathways

Overexposure to the commonly used herbicide atrazine (ATR) affects several organ systems, including the brain. Previously, we demonstrated that short-term oral ATR exposure causes behavioral deficits and dopaminergic and serotonergic dysfunction in the brains of mice. Using adult male C57BL/6 mice, the present study aimed to investigate effects of a 10-day oral ATR exposure (0, 5, 25, 125, or 250mg/kg) on the mouse plasma metabolome and to determine metabolic pathways affected by ATR that may be reflective of ATR's effects on the brain and useful to identify peripheral biomarkers of neurotoxicity. Four hours after the last dosing on day 10, plasma was collected and analyzed with high-performance, dual chromatography-Fourier-transform mass spectrometry that was followed by biostatistical and bioinformatic analyses. ATR exposure (≥5mg/kg) significantly altered plasma metabolite profile and resulted in a dose-dependent increase in the number of metabolites with ion intensities significantly different from the control group. Pathway analyses revealed that ATR exposure strongly correlated with and disrupted multiple metabolic pathways. Tyrosine, tryptophan, linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid metabolic pathways were among the affected pathways, with α-linolenic acid metabolism being affected to the greatest extent. Observed effects of ATR on plasma tyrosine and tryptophan metabolism may be reflective of the previously reported perturbations of brain dopamine and serotonin homeostasis, respectively. ATR-caused alterations in the plasma profile of α-linolenic acid metabolism are a potential novel and sensitive plasma biomarker of ATR effect and plasma metabolomics could be used to better assess the risks, including to the brain, associated with ATR overexposure.

Proteomics in aquatic amphipods: can it be used to determine mechanisms of toxicity and interspecies responses after exposure to atrazine?

Proteomics has gained popularity in the field of ecotoxicology as a holistic tool for unraveling novel mechanisms of toxicity and elucidating subtle effects of contaminant exposure. The holoarctic amphipod Diporeia spp. is declining at precipitous rates in the Great Lakes, and we are evaluating the use of the well-studied amphipod model Hyalella azteca as a surrogate for Diporeia spp. This article presents proteomics data from both amphipod species exposed to atrazine (ATZ) and one of its metabolites, desethylatrazine (DEA; 3 and 30 µg/L for 21 and 42 d). We used a proteomics approach to determine whether these two species of amphipods responded similarly to the same chemicals and to understand better the mechanisms of toxicity of ATZ and DEA in aquatic invertebrates. We observed disruption in energy production and mitochondrial function as well as hormesis in exposed organisms. In addition, we identified a two proteins (GAPDH and HSP 90 kDa) that have been linked to hormonal disruptions, suggesting potential endocrine disruption. Finally, we found that H. azteca and Diporeia spp. responded with similar proteomic profiles after ATZ and DEA exposure, suggesting that H. azteca may be used as a surrogate model organism for Diporeia spp.