NMR-based metabolomics for the environmental assessment of Kaohsiung Harbor sediments exemplified by a marine amphipod (Hyalella azteca)

• Published in: Marine pollution bulletin Vol. 124; no. 2; pp. 714 - 724
• Main Authors: Chiu, K.H., Dong, C.D., Chen, C.F., Tsai, M.L., Ju, Y.R., Chen, T.M., Chen, C.W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 30.11.2017; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Amphipod; Amphipoda; Amphipoda - metabolism; Animals; Aquatic crustaceans; Ecological risk assessment; Environmental assessment; Environmental factors; Environmental Impact Assessment; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Environmental regulations; Geologic Sediments - analysis; Hyalella azteca; Inflow; Inlets; Inlets (topography); Inlets (waterways); Kaohsiung Harbor; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy - methods; Metabolic pathways; Metabolic response; Metabolomics; Metabolomics - instrumentation; Metabolomics - methods; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Physiological effects; Pollutants; Risk assessment; Rivers; Salts; Sediment; Sediment pollution; Sediments; Studies; Wastewater; Water Pollutants, Chemical - metabolism; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity; Taiwan; Metabolomics; NMR; Sediment; Kaohsiung Harbor; Amphipod; Risk assessment
• ISSN: 0025-326X; 1879-3363
• DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.02.067

Inflow of wastewater from upstream causes a large flux of pollutants to enter Kaohsiung Harbor in Taiwan daily. To reveal the ecological risk posed by Kaohsiung Harbor sediments, an ecological metabolomic approach was employed to investigate environmental factors pertinent to the physiological regulation of the marine amphipod Hyalella azteca. The amphipods were exposed to sediments collected from different stream inlets of the Love River (LR), Canon River (CR), Jen-Gen River (JR), and Salt River (SR). Harbor entrance 1 (E1) was selected as a reference site. After 10-day exposure, metabolomic analysis of the Hyalella azteca revealed differences between two groups: {E1, LR, CR} and {JR, SR}. The metabolic pathways identified in the two groups of amphipods were significantly different. The results demonstrated that NMR-based metabolomics can be effectively used to characterize metabolic response related to sediment from polluted areas. •NMR-based metabolomics was applied for risk assessment of sediments.•Marine amphipods were exposed to sediments with different pollutant sources.•Altered metabolites play as potential biomarkers for environmental pollutants.