E-MTAB-11460
mRNA-Seq of Lemna minor exposed to different concentrations of the herbicide bentazon against untreated control groups
In this study, Lemna minor was used to investigate ecotoxic modes-of-action (MoA) at the gene expression level. For this purpose, mRNA sequencing was applied to plant RNA extracted from L. minor exposed to the herbicide bentazon in a shortened version of the OECD guideline test No. 221 (OECD TG 221). L. minor is commonly used as a non-target model organism to determine ecotoxicological effects of xenobiotics. As bentazon is one of the five most frequently detected pesticides in European groundwater, it is known for its environmental impact. Therefore, aquatic organisms, especially plants like L. minor, may be affected by its photosynthesis inhibition. The aim of our study was to determine a molecular fingerprint of the substance in order to identify potential biomarkers for its MoA. Therefore, we applied bioinformatics approaches to functionally annotate the previously unannotated reference genome of L. minor. Our functional annotation pipeline is in principle applicable to any organism with an available reference genome and thus greatly facilitates the identification of gene functions for poorly annotated organisms. The observed effects at the molecular level showed promising results for the development of OMICs as screening methods as well as for the identification of biomarkers for the toxicity of bentazon in L. minor.
In this study, Lemna minor was used to investigate ecotoxic modes-of-action (MoA) at the gene expression level. For this purpose, mRNA sequencing was applied to plant RNA extracted from L. minor exposed to the herbicide bentazon in a shortened version of the OECD guideline test No. 221 (OECD TG 221). L. minor is commonly used as a non-target model organism to determine ecotoxicological effects of xenobiotics. As bentazon is one of the five most frequently detected pesticides in European groundwater, it is known for its environmental impact. Therefore, aquatic organisms, especially plants like L. minor, may be affected by its photosynthesis inhibition. The aim of our study was to determine a molecular fingerprint of the substance in order to identify potential biomarkers for its MoA. Therefore, we applied bioinformatics approaches to functionally annotate the previously unannotated reference genome of L. minor. Our functional annotation pipeline is in principle applicable to any organism with an available reference genome and thus greatly facilitates the identification of gene functions for poorly annotated organisms. The observed effects at the molecular level showed promising results for the development of OMICs as screening methods as well as for the identification of biomarkers for the toxicity of bentazon in L. minor.