OpenTox Virtual Conference 2021 Session 8

The impact of a complex mixture of pollutants on key enzymes in Daphnia Magna Allan McGivern, Konstantinos Grintzalis 

Funding Body: Science Foundation Ireland  

Aquatic organisms encounter complex mixtures of pollutants in the freshwater environment.  Traditional chemical analysis is insufficient as a tool to analyze the impact of these pollutants, as it is limited to the quantification of single chemicals. It does not take into account the risks posed by complex chemical mixtures present at concentrations below the level considered to be safe for each constituent chemical present in those mixtures. An effect-based monitoring approach is more suited to this task using key model species as bioindicators. To this end, daphniids (Daphnia Magna) were exposed to a complex mixture of pollutants for a period of 24 hours. Following this exposure period,  a battery of biochemical assays was carried out to assess any impacts on key enzymes and markers of daphniid physiology. These results will be used to guide the next phase of this project, which will employ a metabolomics approach to further elucidate the impact of chemical mixtures, their modes of action, and the interactions between constituent chemicals.