Predicting chronic copper and nickel reproductive toxicity to Daphnia pulex-pulicaria from whole-animal metabolic profiles
2016
Taylor, Nadine S. | Kirwan, Jennifer A. | Johnson, Craig | Yan, Norman D. | Viant, Mark R. | Gunn, John M. | McGeer, James C.
The emergence of omics approaches in environmental research has enhanced our understanding of the mechanisms underlying toxicity; however, extrapolation from molecular effects to whole-organism and population level outcomes remains a considerable challenge. Using environmentally relevant, sublethal, concentrations of two metals (Cu and Ni), both singly and in binary mixtures, we integrated data from traditional chronic, partial life-cycle toxicity testing and metabolomics to generate a statistical model that was predictive of reproductive impairment in a Daphnia pulex-pulicaria hybrid that was isolated from an historically metal-stressed lake. Furthermore, we determined that the metabolic profiles of organisms exposed in a separate acute assay were also predictive of impaired reproduction following metal exposure. Thus we were able to directly associate molecular profiles to a key population response – reproduction, a key step towards improving environmental risk assessment and management.
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