Comparison of earthworm responses to petroleum hydrocarbon exposure in aged field contaminated soil using traditional ecotoxicity endpoints and 1H NMR-based metabolomics.
(1)H NMR metabolomics and conventional ecotoxicity endpoints were used to examine the response of earthworms exposed to petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs) in soil samples collected from a site that was contaminated with crude oil from a pipeline failure in the mid-1990s. The conventional ecotoxicity tests showed that the soils were not acutely toxic to earthworms (average survival ≥ 90%), but some soil samples impaired reproduction endpoints by >50% compared to the field control soil. Additionally, metabolomics revealed significant relationships between earthworm metabolic profiles (collected after 2 or 14 days of exposure) and soil properties including soil PHC concentration. Further comparisons by partial least squares regression revealed a significant relationship between the earthworm metabolomic data (collected after only 2 or 14 days) and the reproduction endpoints (measured after 63 days). Therefore, metabolomic responses measured after short exposure periods may be predictive of chronic, ecologically relevant toxicity endpoints for earthworms exposed to soil contaminants.
Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M1C 1A4; Intrinsik Environmental Sciences Inc., 6605 Hurontario Street, Suite 500, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5T 0A3.
Melissa
M
Whitfield Åslund
Gladys L
GL
Stephenson
André J
AJ
Simpson
Myrna J
MJ
Simpson
D000818:Animals; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D055442:Metabolome; D055432:Metabolomics; D061329:Oil and Gas Fields; D009835:Oligochaeta / Q000378:metabolism*; D010578:Petroleum / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D059392:Petroleum Pollution; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*
D010578:Petroleum; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants
Earthworm survival; Multivariate statistics; Reproduction test; Soil properties