Evaluation of the suitability of recombinant yeast-based estrogenicity assays as a pre-screening tool in environmental samples.
This paper presents a study evaluating the suitability of recombinant yeast-based estrogenicity assays as a pre-screening tool for monitoring of the chemical status of water bodies in support of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). Three different recombinant yeast-based assays were evaluated; the Yeast Estrogen Screen (YES), the Recombinant Yeast Assay (RYA) and the Rikilt Estrogen bioAssay (REA), of which the YES assay was employed by two different laboratories. No significant difference between the performance of neither the different laboratories, nor the different yeast-assays was observed. Six batches of eleven samples each were analysed one week apart by the four participating laboratories and the robustness, repeatability and reproducibility of the participating yeast-based assays were evaluated. The setup included a correlation between bioassay results and results from chemical target analysis, which gave valuable information in the evaluation of the assays' performance. A good agreement was found between chemical and bioassay results, showing that the yeast-based assays can give valuable information in WFD work. However, the low sensitivity of the assays towards alkylphenols needs to be significantly improved if they are to be used for monitoring of these compounds. The study further led to suggestions on ways to improve traceability and quality assurance of the yeast-based assays.
Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA, C/Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain.
Rikke
R
Brix
Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA, C/Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain.
Tania-Noelia
TN
Noguerol
Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA, C/Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain.
Benjamin
B
Piña
Cefas, Lowestoft Laboratory, Pakefield Road, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR33 0HT, UK.
Jan
J
Balaam
Section for Ecotoxicology and Risk Assessment, Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Gaustadalléen 21, NO-0349 OSLO, Norway.
Anja Julie
AJ
Nilsen
Section for Ecotoxicology and Risk Assessment, Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Gaustadalléen 21, NO-0349 OSLO, Norway.
Knut Erik
KE
Tollefsen
GSF-National Research Center for Environment and Health, Institute of Ecological Chemistry, Ingolstaedter Landstr. 1, D-85764 Neuherberg, Germany.
Walkiria
W
Levy
GSF-National Research Center for Environment and Health, Institute of Ecological Chemistry, Ingolstaedter Landstr. 1, D-85764 Neuherberg, Germany; TUM-Technische Universität München, Department für Biowissenschaftliche Grundlagen, Weihenstephaner Steig 23, D-85350 Freising, Germany.
Karl-Werner
KW
Schramm
Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA, C/Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain; Institut Català de Recerca de l'Aigua (ICRA), Carrer Emili Grahit 101, Edifici H20, Parc Científic i Tecnològic de la Universitat de Girona, Spain. Electronic address: dbcqam@cid.csic.es.
Damià
D
Barceló
D001681:Biological Assay / Q000379:methods; D004967:Estrogens / Q000032:analysis*; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D015003:Yeasts / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics
D004967:Estrogens; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical