Toxicogenomics of the Freshwater Oligochaete, Tubifex tubifex ( Annelida , Clitellata ), in Acute Water-Only Exposure to Arsenic

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences 2024-03, Vol.25 (6), p.3382
• Main Authors: Moreno-Ocio, Iñigo, Aquilino, Mónica, Llorente, Lola, Martínez-Madrid, Maite, Rodríguez, Pilar, Méndez-Fernández, Leire, Planelló, Rosario
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Arsenic; Arsenic - metabolism; Arsenic - toxicity; Biomarkers; cell stress response; Cytochrome; DNA damage; Ecosystem; Fresh Water; Gene expression; Heat shock proteins; Homeostasis; Metabolism; Mortality; oligochaeta; Oligochaeta - genetics; Oligochaeta - metabolism; Oxidative stress; Physiology; Toxicity; toxicity assay; Toxicogenetics; transcriptional biomarker; Water - metabolism; Water Pollutants, Chemical - metabolism; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms25063382

A toxicogenomic approach was used for toxicity evaluation of arsenic in the aquatic environment, and differential gene expression was investigated from 24 h and 96 h water-only acute toxicity tests with the aquatic oligochaete, ( , ). Several toxicological endpoints (survival and autotomy) of the oligochaete and tissue residues were measured, and dose-response modelling of gene expression data was studied. A reference transcriptome of the aquatic oligochaete, , was reconstructed for the first time, and genes related to cell stress response ( , , , and ), energy metabolism ( ), oxidative stress ( , , and ), and the genes involved in the homeostasis of organisms ( , , and ) were identified and characterised. The potential use of the genes identified for risk assessment in freshwater ecosystems as early biomarkers of arsenic toxicity is discussed.