Environmental Metabolomics Promises and Achievements in the Field of Aquatic Ecotoxicology: Viewed through the Pharmaceutical Lens

Abstract

Scientists often set ambitious targets using environmental metabolomics to address challenging ecotoxicological issues. This promising approach has a high potential to elucidate the mechanisms of action (MeOAs) of contaminants (in hazard assessments) and to develop biomarkers (in environmental biomonitoring). However, metabolomics fingerprints often involve a complex mixture of molecular effects that are hard to link to a specific MeOA (if detected in the analytical conditions used). Given these promises and limitations, here we propose an updated review on the achievements of this approach. Metabolomics-based studies conducted on the effects of pharmaceutical active compounds in aquatic organisms provide a relevant means to review the achievements of this approach, as prior knowledge about the MeOA of these molecules could help overcome some shortcomings. This review highlighted that current metabolomics advances have enabled more accurate MeOA assessment, especially when combined with other omics approaches. The combination of metabolomics with other measured biological endpoints has also turned out to be an efficient way to link molecular effects to (sub)-individual adverse outcomes, thereby paving the way to the construction of adverse outcome pathways (AOPs). Here, we also discuss the importance of determining MeOA as a key strategy in the identification of MeOA-specific biomarkers for biomonitoring. We have put forward some recommendations to take full advantage of environmental metabolomics and thus help fulfil these promises.

Keywords: aquatic organisms; biomarkers; biomonitoring; hazard assessment; mechanism of action; metabolomics; multi-omics; pharmaceutical active compounds.

Figure 1

Relationship between PhAC exposure time (days) and concentration (µg/L) based on the findings of 44 experiments performed in the 16 studies selected in this review.

Figure 2

Environmental metabolomics strategy to generate meaningful and useful knowledge for hazard assessment and biomonitoring.