Metabolomic Profiles of a Midge (Procladius villosimanus, Kieffer) Are Associated with Sediment Contamination in Urban Wetlands
Katherine J. Jeppe,
Konstantinos A. Kouremenos,
Kallie R. Townsend,
Daniel F. MacMahon,
David Sharley,
Dedreia L. Tull,
Ary A. Hoffmann,
Vincent Pettigrove,
Sara M. Long
Affiliations
Katherine J. Jeppe
Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and Management (CAPIM), School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Royal Pde, Parkville 3010, Australia
Konstantinos A. Kouremenos
Metabolomics Australia, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, 30 Flemington Road, Parkville 3052, Australia
Kallie R. Townsend
Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and Management (CAPIM), School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Royal Pde, Parkville 3010, Australia
Daniel F. MacMahon
Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and Management (CAPIM), School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Royal Pde, Parkville 3010, Australia
David Sharley
Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and Management (CAPIM), School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Royal Pde, Parkville 3010, Australia
Dedreia L. Tull
Metabolomics Australia, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, 30 Flemington Road, Parkville 3052, Australia
Ary A. Hoffmann
School of BioSciences, Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, 30 Flemington Road, Parkville 3052, Australia
Vincent Pettigrove
Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and Management (CAPIM), School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Royal Pde, Parkville 3010, Australia
Sara M. Long
Centre for Aquatic Pollution Identification and Management (CAPIM), School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Royal Pde, Parkville 3010, Australia
Metabolomic techniques are powerful tools for investigating organism-environment interactions. Metabolite profiles have the potential to identify exposure or toxicity before populations are disrupted and can provide useful information for environmental assessment. However, under complex environmental scenarios, metabolomic responses to exposure can be distorted by background and/or organismal variation. In the current study, we use LC-MS (liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry) and GC-MS (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry) to measure metabolites of the midge Procladius villosimanus inhabiting 21 urban wetlands. These metabolites were tested against common sediment contaminants using random forest models and metabolite enrichment analysis. Sediment contaminant concentrations in the field correlated with several P. villosimanus metabolites despite natural environmental and organismal variation. Furthermore, enrichment analysis indicated that metabolite sets implicated in stress responses were enriched, pointing to specific cellular functions affected by exposure. Methionine metabolism, sugar metabolism and glycerolipid metabolism associated with total petroleum hydrocarbon and metal concentrations, while mitochondrial electron transport and urea cycle sets associated only with bifenthrin. These results demonstrate the potential for metabolomics approaches to provide useful information in field-based environmental assessments.