title: Potential of the small cyclopoid copepod Paracyclopina nana as an invertebrate model for ecotoxicity testing.
abstract: Aquatic invertebrates contribute significantly to environmental impact assessment of contaminants in aquatic ecosystems. Much effort has been made to identify viable and ecologically relevant invertebrate test organisms to meet rigorous regulatory requirements. Copepods, which are ecologically important and widely distributed in aquatic organisms, offer a huge opportunity as test organisms for aquatic toxicity testing. They have a major role not only in the transfer of energy in aquatic food chains, but also as a medium of transfer of aquatic pollutants across the tropic levels. In this regard, a supratidal and benthic harpacticoid copepod Tigriopus japonicus Mori (order Harpacticoida) has shown promising characteristics as a test organism in the field of ecotoxicology. Because there is a need to standardize a battery of test organisms from species in different phylogenetic and critical ecosystem positions, it is important to identify another unrelated planktonic species for wider application and comparison. In this regard, the cyclopoid copepod Paracyclopina nana Smirnov (order Cyclopoida) has emerged as a potential test organism to meet such requirements. Like T. japonicus, it has a number of features that make it a candidate worth consideration in such efforts. Recently, the genomics of P. nana has been unraveled. Data on biochemical and molecular responses of P. nana against exposure to environmental chemicals and other stressors have been collected. Recently, sequences and expression profiles of a number of genes in P. nana encoding for heat shock proteins, xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes, and antioxidants have been reported. These genes serve as potential biomarkers in biomonitoring of environmental pollutants. Moreover, the application of gene expression techniques and the use of its whole transcriptome have allowed evaluation of transcriptional changes in P. nana with the ultimate aim of understanding the mechanisms of action of environmental stressors. Whole-animal bioassays and gene expression studies indicate that P. nana may serve as an excellent tool to evaluate the impact of diverse disturbances in the marine environment. With a better understanding of toxicological mechanisms, ecotoxicologists will be able to understand defense mechanisms against toxicants in copepods. In this review, we illustrate the potential of P. nana as an alternative as well as a complementary invertebrate model organism for risk assessment of aquatic pollutants.
authors: Department of Biomedical Science and Environmental Biology, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 80708, Taiwan; Department of Marine Biotechnology and Resources, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung 80424, Taiwan.
authors: Hans-Uwe
authors: HU
authors: Dahms
authors: Department of Biological Science, College of Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, South Korea.
authors: Eun-Ji
authors: EJ
authors: Won
authors: Department of Biological Science, College of Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, South Korea.
authors: Hui-Su
authors: HS
authors: Kim
authors: Department of Biological Science, College of Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, South Korea.
authors: Jeonghoon
authors: J
authors: Han
authors: Department of Marine Bioscience, College of Life Sciences, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung 25457, South Korea.
authors: Heum Gi
authors: HG
authors: Park
authors: Univ. Lille, CNRS, Univ. Littoral Cote d'Opale, UMR 8187, LOG, Laboratoire d'Océanologie et de Géosciences, 62930 Wimereux, France.
authors: Sami
authors: S
authors: Souissi
authors: Department of Medical Elementology and Toxicology, Jamia Hamdard, Hamdard University, New Delhi 110062, India.
authors: Sheikh
authors: S
authors: Raisuddin
authors: Department of Biological Science, College of Science, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, South Korea. Electronic address: jslee2@skku.edu.
authors: Jae-Seong
authors: JS
authors: Lee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism; D001681:Biological Assay / Q000379:methods; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D033342:Copepoda / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D054750:Ecotoxicology / Q000379:methods*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D023281:Genomics; D023421:Models, Animal; D018675:Toxicity Tests / Q000379:methods*; D059467:Transcriptome / Q000187:drug effects; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D015415:Biomarkers; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Aquatic pollution; Bioassay; Biomarker; Copepod; Environmental OMICS approaches; Gene expression; Monitoring