Download Amphipods as models to investigate toxicology of environmental

Amphipodsasmodelstoinvestigatetoxicologyofenvironmentalcontaminantsattheland-sea
interface
GiselaUmbuzeiro,AlexFord,TheodoreHenry
TuesdayMay24,2:00PM-4:00PM,SalleG+H
Amphipodsfrequentlyliveinaquaticecosystemsthatarevulnerabletocontaminationbytoxic
substancesandoccupynichesthatlinkbenthichabitatswithhighertrophiclevels.Amongthese
criticalecosystemsareestuarineenvironmentsthatcombinecomplexityofthelandsea-interface
withfresh-estuarine-marinewaters.Thoseecosystemsprovideimportantservicesthatinclude
transportandtransformationoftoxicsubstancesreleasedfromhumanactivity,butthepresenceof
thesetoxicantscannegativelyaffectorganismsintheseenvironments.Despitetheimportanceof
estuarineenvironmentsandtheirvulnerabilitytoenvironmentaltoxicants,therearerelativelyfew
organismsthathavebeendevelopedforecotoxicitytesting.Amphipodsareemergingasparticularly
goodmodelsforecotoxicologyandtherehavebeensubstantialadvancementsmadein
understandingamphipodgenomics,physiologyandtoxicologythatwillenhancetheabilityto
establishthemasstandardizedmodels.Beingubiquitousandhugelyimportanttoavarietyof
ecosystemsandtrophicinteractionsthisdiversegrouphasanaddedadvantageofanenormous
depthofecologicalliteraturetoassistconnectingbiomarkerstopopulationleveleffects.Because
theyliveinbenthichabitatstheybecomeparticularlyinterestinginnanotoxicology.Thissessionaims
to1)explorerecentdevelopmentsofamphipodsasmodelsforecotoxicology;2)introducenew
specieswithuniqueattributesthatenhanceabilitytoassesstoxicologyincriticalhabitats;3)describe
standardizedmethodsforconductingecotoxicitytestingwithamphipodsincludinganalysisof
biomarkers.
Biomonitoringofcontaminantsinthemarineenvironment:integrationofbiologicalandchemical
approaches
KariK.Lehtonen,LuciaGuilhermino,KetilHylland,LarraitzGarmendia
TuesdayMay24,10:50AM-12:50PM,SalleR0-B
Thedevelopmentofintegratedbiological-chemicalmonitoringandassessmentofchemicalpollution
hasbeenongoinginEuropeancoastalandoffshoreareasforclosetotwodecades.Anintegrated
approachiswidelyseenasthemostreliablewaytogetaholisticpictureofthestatusofourseas
withregardtocontaminants.Despitethesignificanttechnologicaladvancesandawealthofdata
currentlyavailable,however,theimplementationofthemethodologiesinnationalandinternational
monitoringhasbeenlimitedtosomecountriesandprogrammes.Someoftheissuesraisedrelateto
theperceivedlackofecologicalrelevanceofthemeasuredbiologicalparameters,otherstothehigh
costofsomemethods(e.g.,-omics),whileitisalsoconceptuallychallengingtocombinethedatain
aneasilyinterpretableform.Inaddition,differentareasandhabitatsrequireamendmentstogeneral
strategies:onesizedoesnotfitall.
Theuseofbiologicaleffectsmethodssuchasbiomarkerscanclearlycontributetowardsdetecting
andquantifyingenvironmentalimpactscausedbychemicalpollution,butthereisstillaneedto
developlinkstopopulationeffects.Adverseoutcomepathways(AOP)haverecentlybeenidentified
asatooltolinkchemicalpropertiesoftoxicantstospecificmoleculardamageandresponsesat
higherbiologicallevels.Suchcontextualorprobabilisticapproachesbasedonknownmechanismsof
toxicitycanprovideusefulmodelingtoolsfortheinterpretationoftherisklevelsindicatedby
biomarkerdataandthelevelsofdifferentchemicalsmeasuredintheenvironment.
Mixturetoxicityandtheeffectsofnon-chemicalfactors(suchastemperature,salinity,hypoxiaand
acidity)willinthefutureproduceamatrixofinteractingfactorswhererealisticestimatesofhowany
onefactoraffectsthefunctioningoforganismsandconceivablytheecosystemcanonlybereached
byholisticassessmentofthehealthoftheindividualsthroughapplyingawell-designedsetof
biologicaleffectparameters.
Thecurrentsessionproposalinvitesresearcherstopresentnewdatarelatedtobiological-chemical
monitoringwithrespectto(1)newmethodologiesandparametercombinations,(2)applicationof
integrationmethodsondatasets,(3)tailoringofmonitoringstrategiesfordifferenttypesofneeds,
(4)modelingoflinkagesbetweenobservedconcentrationsofcontaminantsthroughdamageon
biomoleculesandfurtherupthebiologicallevelhierarchy,and,finally,(5)newapproachesand
strategiesonhowtoimplementtheintegratedmethodologiesinmonitoringprogrammesonpolitical
andpracticallevels.
Developmentandapplicationofoxidativestressbiomarkersandmodelsinecotoxicologyand
environmentalmonitoring
JohanLundqvist
TuesdayMay24,8:10AM-6:30PM,ExhibitionHall(Posteronlysession)
Oxidativestressisinvolvedinawiderangeoftoxicologicalend-points(e.g.tissuetoxicity,
genotoxicity,mutagenicity,carcinogenicityandteratogenicity).Thenuclearfactorerythroid2-related
factor2(Nrf2)isaregulatorinthecellulardefenseagainstoxidantsandakeyeventintheoxidative
stresspathwayisthereleaseofNrf2.Inaninvestigationoftheeffectsofmorethan300pesticideson
nuclearreceptorsandtranscriptionfactors,theNrf2pathwaywasoneofthemostcommonly
affectedtargetandactivatedbythelargestnumberofchemicals(Martinetal.,2010).Further,the
Nrf2activitywashighlycorrelatedwithclassicaltoxicologicalendpoints.
Akeymissioninthestrategyofusinginvitrobioassayinecotoxicologyandenvironmental
monitoringistheestablishmentandselectionofsuitablebioassays.Thebioassaydevelopmenthas
beenfocusedonfindingmoleculareventsthatareimportantforawiderangeoftoxicologicalendpointsandthatistriggeredbyalargenumberoftheknownhazardoussubstances.Basedonthe
findingsdescribedabove,oxidativestressingeneralandNrf2activityinparticularhasbeen
highlightedasverypromisingmoleculareventsforbioassayestablishments.
Environmentalsamplesareoftenhighlycomplexmixturesofknownandunknownchemical
compounds.Effect-drivenfractionationandchemicalanalysisisapromisingstrategywhereinvitro
toxicityassaysleadsthewayintheidentificationoftoxiccompounds.Furthermore,invitrotoxicity
testingcanbeavaluabletooltoassesthetotaltoxicityexertedbymixturesofchemicalcompounds.
Duringthelastyears,awiderangeofmethodstostudyoxidativestressresponseandNrf2activity
hasbeenpresented;e.g.geneexpressionstudiesofNrf2,geneexpressionstudiesofdownstream
genesintheoxidativestresspathway(HO-1,NQO1,SODetcetera),Nrf2responsiveluciferase
reporterassaysystemsandNrf2responsivegreenfluorescentproteintransgeniczebrafishes.Some,
butnotall,oftheseassayshasalsobeenusedinecotoxicologyorenvironmentalmonitoringsettings.
Theaimofthissessionistopresentanddiscussbiomarkersforoxidativestress,theircorrelationto
toxicityendpointsinvariousorganismsandtheirapplicationineffect-drivenidentificationofnovel
hazardouscompoundsintheenvironment.
ToxicityTestinginSediments-BioassaysAsLinkBetweenChemistryandComplexBenthic
CommunityTestingforSedimentQualityAssessment
SebastianHöss,UteFeiler
MondayMay23,10:50AM-12:50PM,Salle300
Sedimentsrepresentboth,amajorsinkandapotentialsourceofpersistenttoxicsubstancesinthe
aquaticenvironment.Atthesametime,sedimentsplayakeyrolefortheecologicalstatusofaquatic
ecosystems,astheyareahabitatofdiversecommunitiesandacompartmentofimportant
biochemicaltransformations.Therefore,sedimentstudiesareverysuitableforhighlightingthe
extent,thehistoryandthetrendofwaterpollution.Amongothers,toxicitycriteriaareusedto
decideontheacceptabilityofdredgedmaterialrelocationwithinthewatersortheneedforother
disposaloptions,whichmaybeconsiderablyhigherintheircosts.Therefore,thoroughsediment
characterizationisessential.
Atpresent,weight-of-evidenceapproaches,suchasthesedimentqualitytriad,arewidelyaccepted
toassesstheecologicalriskofsediment-boundcontaminants.Besideschemicalanalysisandin-situ
benthiccommunityassessment,toxicitytestingwithsinglespeciesrepresentsonelineofevidence
(LoE),whichallowstoassesscause-effectrelationships.Whole-sedimentexposureprotocols
representingrealisticscenariossimulatinginsituexposureconditionsaswellasaquaticbioassaysfor
testingaqueousextractsorporewaterthatwereobtainedfromthesedimentsarecurrentlypartof
theinternationalguidelinesfortheassessmentofsedimentanddredgedmaterial.OtherLoEs,linking
chemicalandecologicalstatusofbenthichabitats,areeffect-basedsedimentqualityguidelines
(SQG)thatarederivedfromtoxicityandbioticdata,aswellaspollutionsensitivebioticindices(e.g.
SPEAR[%]index;NemaSPEAR[%]-index).
Inthissessionwewouldliketogetanoverviewontheprosandconsofthedifferentapproachesand
thebenefitsofWoEapproachesusingvariousLoEsforassessingsedimenttoxicity.Abstractsrelating
sedimenttoxicitytestingwithotherLoEsforsedimentqualityassessmentarewelcome.