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Mode of action evaluation for reduced reproduction in Daphnia pulex exposed to the insensitive munition, 1-methyl-3-nitro-1-nitroguanidine (MeNQ).

ABSTRACT: The US Department of Defense (DOD) is developing insensitive munitions (IMs) that are resistant to unintended detonation to protect warfighters. To enable material life-cycle analysis for the IM, 1-methyl-3-nitro-1-nitroguanidine (MeNQ), ecotoxicological impacts assessment was required. A previous investigation of MeNQ exposures in Daphnia pulex revealed concentration-responsive decreases in reproduction relative to controls (0 mg/L) across a 174, 346, 709, 1385, and 2286 mg/L exposure range. The present study used those exposures to conduct global transcriptomic expression analyses to establish hypothetical mode(s) of action underlying inhibited reproduction. The number of significantly affected transcripts and the magnitude of fold-change differences relative to controls tended to increase with increasing MeNQ concentration where hierarchical clustering analysis identified separation among the "low" (174 and 346 mg/L) and "high" (709, 1385, and 2286 mg/L) exposures. Vitellogenin is critical to Daphnia reproductive processes and MeNQ exposures significantly decreased transcriptional expression for vitellogenin-1 precursor at the lowest exposure level (174 mg/L) with benchmark dose (BMD) levels closely tracking concentrations that caused inhibited reproduction. Additionally, juvenile hormone-inducible protein, chorion peroxidase, and high choriolytic enzyme transcriptional expression were impacted by MeNQ exposure having potential implications for egg production / maturation and overall fecundity. In concert with these effects on specific genes involved in Daphnia reproductive physiology, MeNQ exposures caused significant enrichment of several canonical-pathways responsible for metabolism of cellular energy substrates where BMD levels for transcriptional expression were observed at ≤100 mg/L. These observations imply possible effects on whole-organism energy budgets that may also incur indirect costs on reproduction.

SUBMITTER: Gust KA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8295077 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:The US Department of Defense (DOD) is developing insensitive munitions (IMs) that are resistant to unintended detonation to protect warfighters. To enable evaluation of the material life-cycle for the IM, 1-methyl-3-nitro-1-nitroguanidine (MeNQ), ecotoxicological impacts assessment was required. A previous investigation of MeNQ exposures in Daphnia pulex revealed concentration-responsive decreases in reproduction relative to controls (0 mg/L) across a 174, 346, 709, 1385, and 2286 mg/L exposure range. The present study used those exposures to conduct global transcriptomic expression analyses to establish hypothetical mechanisms underlying inhibited reproduction. Changes in transcript expression tended to increase with increasing MeNQ concentration where hierarchical clustering analysis identified separation among the “low” (174 and 346 mg/L) and “high” (709, 1385, and 2286 mg/L) exposures. The MeNQ exposures significantly decreased transcriptional expression for a vitellogenin precursor and juvenile hormone-inducible protein, each having plausible mechanistic connections to impaired reproductive physiology and reduced offspring production in Daphnia. Further, MeNQ affected chorion peroxidase and high choriolytic enzyme transcriptional expression which are known to influence egg production / maturation processes in arthropods. Additionally, MeNQ exposure caused dose-responsive decreases in transcriptional expression for a diverse set of cuticle proteins which requires closer examination regarding Daphnia embryo development and brood release. Finally, canonical-pathway enrichment analysis identified significant effects on a broad array of energy metabolic processes in D. pulex which require consideration regarding potential shifts in homeostatic equilibrium that can have indirect costs on reproduction. Overall, plausible mechanisms of inhibited D. pulex reproduction have been identified and should be tested in targeted bioassays. see previous row.

Project description:BackgroundSexual reproduction is a core biological function that is conserved throughout eukaryotic evolution, yet breeding systems are extremely variable. Genome-wide comparative studies can be effectively used to identify genes and regulatory patterns that are constrained to preserve core functions from those that may help to account for the diversity of animal reproductive strategies. We use a custom microarray to investigate gene expression in males and two reproductive stages of females in the crustacean Daphnia pulex. Most Daphnia species reproduce by cyclical parthenogenesis, alternating between sexual and clonal reproduction. Both sex determination and the switch in their mode of reproduction is environmentally induced, making Daphnia an interesting comparative system for the study of sex-biased and reproductive genes.ResultsPatterns of gene expression in females and males reveal that 50% of assayed transcripts show some degree of sex-bias. Female-biased transcription is enriched for translation, metabolic and regulatory genes associated with development. Male-biased expression is enriched for cuticle and protease function. Comparison with well studied arthropods such as Drosophila melanogaster and Anopheles gambiae suggests that female-biased patterns tend to be conserved, whereas male-biased genes are evolving faster in D. pulex. These findings are based on the proportion of female-biased, male-biased, and unbiased genes that share sequence similarity with proteins in other animal genomes.ConclusionSome transcriptional differences between males and females appear to be conserved across Arthropoda, including the rapid evolution of male-biased genes which is observed in insects and now in a crustacean. Yet, novel patterns of male-biased gene expression are also uncovered. This study is an important first step towards a detailed understanding of the genetic basis and evolution of parthenogenesis, environmental sex determination, and adaptation to aquatic environments.

Dataset Information

Mode of action evaluation for reduced reproduction in Daphnia pulex exposed to the insensitive munition, 1-methyl-3-nitro-1-nitroguanidine (MeNQ).

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