title: Microbial reporter gene assay as a diagnostic and early warning tool for the detection and characterization of toxic pollution in surface waters.
abstract: Surface water samples constantly receive a vast mixture of micropollutants mainly originating from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). High-throughput live cell arrays provide a promising method for the characterization of the effects of chemicals and the associated molecular mechanisms. In the present study, this test system was evaluated for the first time for the characterization of a set of typical surface water extracts receiving effluent from WWTPs. The extracts containing complex mixtures of micropollutants were analyzed for the expression of 90 stress responsive genes in the Escherichia coli reporter gene assay. The most affected pathways and the genes most sensitive to surface water samples suggested prominent stress-responsive pathways for wastewater-impacted surface water, such as oxidative stress, DNA damage, and drug resistance. Samples strongly affecting particular pathways were identified by statistical analysis of gene expression. Transcription data were correlated with contamination data from chemical screening and percentages of wastewater in the samples. Samples with particular effects and outstanding chemical composition were analyzed. For these samples, hypotheses on the alteration of the transcription of genes involved in drug resistance and DNA repair attributable to the presence of pharmaceuticals were drawn.
authors.affiliation: Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Saxony, Germany.|Institute for Environmental Research, Department of Ecosystem Analyses, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hug
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control & Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiaowei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control & Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Miao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.affiliation: Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Saxony, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krauss
authors.affiliation: Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Saxony, Germany.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bloch
authors.affiliation: Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Saxony, Germany.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schulze
authors.affiliation: Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Saxony, Germany.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Reinecke
authors.affiliation: Institute for Environmental Research, Department of Ecosystem Analyses, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.|State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control & Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China.|College of Resources and Environmental Science, Chongqing University, Chongqing, Chongqing, People's Republic of China.|Key Laboratory of Yangtze Water Environment, Ministry of Education, Tongji University, Shanghai, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Henner
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hollert
authors.affiliation: Department of Effect-Directed Analysis, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Saxony, Germany.|Institute for Environmental Research, Department of Ecosystem Analyses, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Brack
mesh_terms: D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism*; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D040081:Protein Array Analysis; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000187:drug effects*; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Micropollutants; Stress-responsive genes expression; Surface water