title: Metabolomic responses in caged clams, Ruditapes decussatus, exposed to agricultural and urban inputs in a Mediterranean coastal lagoon (Mar Menor, SE Spain).
abstract: The Mar Menor is a coastal lagoon affected by the growth of intensive agriculture and urban development in the surrounding area. Large amounts of chemical pollutants from these areas are discharged into El Albujón, a permanent water-course flowing into the lagoon. Biomarkers such as the activity of acetylcholinesterase or antioxidant enzymes have been previously tested in this lagoon demonstrating the presence of neurotoxicity and oxidative stress in clams transplanted in sites affected by the dispersion of the effluent from El Albujón. To complete this traditional toxicology work, a metabolomic profiling of these transplanted organisms has been carried out for the detection of metabolic biomarkers induced by agricultural/urban pollutants. More than 70 metabolites have been quantified using a targeting metabolomics platform based on HPLC-MS. The intracellular metabolic pattern was analyzed by PCA from the digestive gland of clams after 7 and 22 days of transplantation. Results showed a different profile of metabolite between organisms collected from control and exposed sites. At the shorter exposure time, there was an increase in several metabolites in the latter when compared with those from control sites, whereas metabolic profiling at 22 days showed that those metabolites were drastically diminished, with even lower levels than at control sites. These metabolites included: (i) 12 amino acids from the 21 proteogenic and HomoSer, (ii) osmotic protectants such as γ-butyrobetaine and taurine and (iii) nucleotides such as ITP. Regarding sulfur-containing molecules, taurine could be highlighted as a potential biomarker since its concentration was reduced by more than 30 times after 22 days of exposure, whereas the antioxidant glutathione remained constant in the organisms from both control and exposed sites. Although targeted metabolomics has been shown as an early technique of pollutant effect detection, the two-phase pattern could highlight a more complicated metabolite response to pollutants than classical biomarkers.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Español de Oceanografía, IEO, Centro Oceanográfico de Murcia, Varadero 1, E-30740 San Pedro del Pinatar, Murcia, Spain. Electronic address: juan.campillo@mu.ieo.es.
authors.forename: Juan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Campillo
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan, 67, Delft 2628 BC, The Netherlands; Inbionova Biotech S.L., Edif. CEEIM, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sevilla
authors.affiliation: Instituto Español de Oceanografía, IEO, Centro Oceanográfico de Murcia, Varadero 1, E-30740 San Pedro del Pinatar, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Albentosa
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology B and Immunology, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Murcia, E-30100 Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bernal
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology B and Immunology, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Murcia, E-30100 Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Ana B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Lozano
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology B and Immunology, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Murcia, E-30100 Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cánovas
authors.affiliation: Instituto Español de Oceanografía, IEO, Centro Oceanográfico de Murcia, Varadero 1, E-30740 San Pedro del Pinatar, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Víctor M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: León
mesh_terms: D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000378:metabolism; D000383:Agriculture; D000818:Animals; D001622:Betaine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D049872:Bivalvia / Q000378:metabolism*; D002331:Carnitine / Q000378:metabolism; D002947:Cities; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D013030:Spain; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D001622:Betaine; C002889:gamma-butyrobetaine; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase; D002331:Carnitine
keywords: Biomarkers; Metabolomics; Pollution; Toxicity