Project description:Daphnia magna is a bio-indicator organism accepted by several international water quality regulatory agencies. Current approaches for assessment of water quality rely on acute and chronic toxicity that provide no insight into the cause of toxicity. Recently, molecular approaches, such as genome wide gene expression responses, are enabling an alternative mechanism based approach to toxicity assessment. While these genomic methods are providing important mechanistic insight into toxicity, statistically robust prediction systems that allow the identification of chemical contaminants from the molecular response to exposure are needed. Here we apply advanced machine learning approaches to develop predictive models of contaminant exposure using a D. magna gene expression dataset for 36 chemical exposures. We demonstrate here that we can discriminate between chemicals belonging to different chemical classes including endocrine disruptors, metals and industrial chemicals based on gene expression. We also show that predictive models based on indices of whole pathway transcriptional activity can achieve comparable results while facilitating biological interpretability. D. magna were exposed to 36 Chemicals and 5 control series in quadruplicate.
Project description:Nanowires (NWs), high-aspect-ratio nanomaterials, are increasingly used in technological materials and consumer products and may have toxicological characteristics distinct from nanoparticles. We carried out a comprehensive evaluation of the physicochemical stability of four silver nanowires (AgNWs) of two sizes and coatings and their toxicity to Daphnia magna. Inorganic aluminum-doped silica coatings were less effective than organic poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) coatings at preventing silver oxidation or Ag+ release and underwent a significant morphological transformation within 1 h following addition to low ionic strength Daphnia growth media. All AgNWs were highly toxic to D. magna but less toxic than ionic silver. Toxicity varied as a function of AgNW dimension, coating, and solution chemistry. Ag+ release in the media could not account for observed AgNW toxicity. Single-particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry distinguished and quantified dissolved and nanoparticulate silver in microliter-scale volumes of Daphnia magna hemolymph with a limit of detection of approximately 10 ppb. The silver levels within the hemolymph of Daphnia exposed to both Ag+ and AgNW met or exceeded the initial concentration in the growth medium, indicating effective accumulation during filter feeding. Silver-rich particles were the predominant form of silver in hemolymph following exposure to both AgNWs and Ag+. Scanning electron microscopy imaging of dried hemolymph found both AgNWs and silver precipitates that were not present in the AgNW stock or the growth medium. Both organic and inorganic coatings on the AgNW were transformed during ingestion or absorption. Pathway, gene ontology, and clustering analyses of gene expression response indicated effects of AgNWs distinct from ionic silver on Daphnia magna. Four replicates each of five toxicant exposure groups of ~20 animals and four replicates of control, unexposed animals. Each control was compared to each exposed data set for a total of 16 comparisons per chemical condition.
Project description:Toxic chemical contaminants have variety of detrimental effects on various species and the impact of pollutants on ecosystems has become an urgent issue. However, very limited species have been examined to date and those studies are mainly limited to vertebrates. In this study, we aimed to establish an ecotoxicogenomic bases for Daphnia magna. Based on a daphnia EST database, we made oligonucleotide-based DNA microarray that has high reproducibility. The DNA microarray was applied to evaluate gene expression profiles of daphnid exposed to chemicals. Characteristic gene expression patterns depending on chemicals indicate that the Daphnia microarray can be used for mechanistic understanding of chemical toxicity. Although acute toxicity test or reproductive toxicity test can provide hazardous concentrations of chemicals, they give no information about mode of action. Our study can be a breakthrough for the evaluation of chemical toxicity on environmental organisms. Keywords: Chemical response
Project description:Daphnia magna is a bio-indicator organism accepted by several international water quality regulatory agencies. Current approaches for assessment of water quality rely on acute and chronic toxicity that provide no insight into the cause of toxicity. Recently, molecular approaches, such as genome wide gene expression responses, are enabling an alternative mechanism based approach to toxicity assessment. While these genomic methods are providing important mechanistic insight into toxicity, statistically robust prediction systems that allow the identification of chemical contaminants from the molecular response to exposure are needed. Here we apply advanced machine learning approaches to develop predictive models of contaminant exposure using a D. magna gene expression dataset for 36 chemical exposures. We demonstrate here that we can discriminate between chemicals belonging to different chemical classes including endocrine disruptors, metals and industrial chemicals based on gene expression. We also show that predictive models based on indices of whole pathway transcriptional activity can achieve comparable results while facilitating biological interpretability.
Project description:Nanowires (NWs), high-aspect-ratio nanomaterials, are increasingly used in technological materials and consumer products and may have toxicological characteristics distinct from nanoparticles. We carried out a comprehensive evaluation of the physicochemical stability of four silver nanowires (AgNWs) of two sizes and coatings and their toxicity to Daphnia magna. Inorganic aluminum-doped silica coatings were less effective than organic poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) coatings at preventing silver oxidation or Ag+ release and underwent a significant morphological transformation within 1 h following addition to low ionic strength Daphnia growth media. All AgNWs were highly toxic to D. magna but less toxic than ionic silver. Toxicity varied as a function of AgNW dimension, coating, and solution chemistry. Ag+ release in the media could not account for observed AgNW toxicity. Single-particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry distinguished and quantified dissolved and nanoparticulate silver in microliter-scale volumes of Daphnia magna hemolymph with a limit of detection of approximately 10 ppb. The silver levels within the hemolymph of Daphnia exposed to both Ag+ and AgNW met or exceeded the initial concentration in the growth medium, indicating effective accumulation during filter feeding. Silver-rich particles were the predominant form of silver in hemolymph following exposure to both AgNWs and Ag+. Scanning electron microscopy imaging of dried hemolymph found both AgNWs and silver precipitates that were not present in the AgNW stock or the growth medium. Both organic and inorganic coatings on the AgNW were transformed during ingestion or absorption. Pathway, gene ontology, and clustering analyses of gene expression response indicated effects of AgNWs distinct from ionic silver on Daphnia magna.
Project description:Background: Toxicogenomics provides new opportunities for innovative and proactive approaches to chemical screening, risk assessment, and predictive toxicology. If applied to ecotoxicology, genomics tools could greatly enhance the ability to detect toxicants and understand the modes of toxicity in an environmental setting. However, few studies have yet to illustrate the potential of genomic techniques in ecotoxicology. Objective: Therefore, our objective was to demonstrate the potential utility of gene expression profiling in ecotoxicology using Daphnia magna, a standard aquatic ecotoxicity test organism. Methods: D. magna were exposed to copper, cadmium, and zinc at the 1/10 LC50 for 24 hours. Following each exposure, RNA was isolated, reverse transcribed, and the cDNA was hybridized to a 5000 clone cDNA microarray for D. magna. Differentially expressed cDNAs were sequenced and homology searches revealed each gene product's potential function. Real time PCR was used to verify the differential expression of several genes, and enzyme assays were used to assess the significance of these changes. Results: We identified distinct expression profiles in response to acute copper, cadmium, and zinc exposures and discovered specific biomarkers of exposure including two probable metallothioneins, and a ferritin mRNA with a functional IRE. The gene expression patterns support known mechanisms of metal toxicity and reveal novel modes of action including zinc inhibition of chitinase activity. Conclusions: Using a cDNA microarray for traditional ecotoxicology organism, D. magna, we have identified novel biomarkers of exposure and revealed possible modes of toxicity, providing experimental support for the utility of ecotoxicogenomics. Keywords: comparative toxicant exposure
Project description:Daphnia magna has been used extensively to evaluate organism- and population-level responses to pollutants in acute toxicity and reproductive toxicity tests. We have previously reported that exposure to juvenile hormone (JH) agonists results in a reduction of reproductive function and production of male offspring in a cyclic parthenogenesis, D. magna. Recent advances in molecular techniques have provided tools to better understand the responses to pollutants in aquatic organisms including D. magna. DNA microarray was used to evaluate gene expression profiles of neonatal daphnids exposed to JH agonists; methoprene (125, 250 and 500 ppb), fenoxycarb (0.5, 1 and 2 ppb), and epofenonane (50, 100 and 200 ppb). Exposure to these JH analogs resulted in chemical specific patterns of gene expression. The heat map analyses based on hierarchical clustering revealed a similar pattern between treatments with a high dose of methoprene and with epofenonane. In contrast, treatment with low to middle doses of methoprene resulted in similar profiles to fenoxycarb treatments. Hemoglobin and JH epoxide hydrolase genes clustered to be JH-responsive genes. These data suggest that fenoxycarb has high activity as a JH agonist, methoprene shows high toxicity and epofenonane works through a different mechanism compared with other JH analogs, agreeing with data of previously reported toxicity tests. In conclusion, D. magna DNA microarray is useful for classification of JH analogs and identification of JH-responsive genes.
Project description:This experiment was conducted to study the short-term (12h) transcriptional responses in Daphnia magna after exposure to the anti-sea lice chemical emamectin benzoate (EMB). The microarray results were further vefiried using qPCR. The gene exression responses were linked to adverse effects after 48h exposure, in order to supply knowledge for environmental hazard assessment of this chemical in non-target crustaceans. Neonatal (<24h) Daphnia magna were exposed to 7.8-2000 pM waterborne emamectin benzoate for 12h. Microarray analysis was performed using pooled whole-organism D. magna (8 individuals) and 4 biological replicates were analyzed for each treatment group.
Project description:Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) represent a large group of contaminants of concern based on their widespread use, distribution and persistence in the environment, and potential toxicity. Many of the traditional models for estimating toxicity, bioaccumulation, and other relevant toxicological properties are not well suited for PFAS. Consequently, there is a need to generate hazard information for a large number of PFAS in an efficient and cost-effective manner. In the present study, Daphnia magna were exposed to multiple concentrations of 22 different PFAS for 24 h, in a 96-well plate format. Following exposure, whole body RNA was extracted and pooled extracts, each representing five exposed individuals, were subjected to RNA sequencing. Following analytical measurements to verify PFAS exposure concentrations in-well, and quality control on processed cDNA libraries for sequencing, concentration-response modeling was applied to the data sets for 18 of the tested compounds, and the concentration at which a concerted molecular response occurred (transcriptomic point of departure; tPOD) was calculated. The tPODs, based on average measured concentration of PFAS in the exposure wells, generally ranged from 0.03-0.58 µM (9.9-350 µg/L; interquartile range). In most cases, these concentrations were two orders of magnitude lower than similarly calculated tPODs for human cell lines exposed to PFAS. They were also lower than apical effect concentrations reported for seven PFAS for which some crustacean or invertebrate toxicity data were available, although there were a few exceptions. However, despite being lower than most other available hazard benchmarks, the Daphnia magna tPODs were, on average, four orders of magnitude greater than the maximum aqueous concentrations of PFAS measured in Great Lakes tributaries. Overall, this high throughput transcriptomics assay with Daphnia magna holds promise as a component of a tiered hazard evaluation strategy employing new approach methodologies.