Hyalella azteca Toxicological Genomics

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

In current practice, the health/toxicity of local environments is diagnosed by chemical analysis of soil, water and air coupled with censuses from toxicity tests on "sentinel" organisms. Regulatory agencies, concerned with assessing the environmental impact of new and existing chemicals, are anxious for the emergence of novel technologies promising data that are more sensitive, more quickly obtained, less expensive, and better able to detect all bio-reactive species. Methods that monitor the transcriptome (all genetic precursors for proteins) are expected to provide reliable diagnostic tools that determine whether substances are harmful, whether a population is susceptible to certain chemicals, and whether a defined ecosystem (or individual) is exposed to toxic agents. In collaboration with Drs. Marisol Sepulveda and Hugo Ochoa-Acuña (Purdue Univ.), this project characterizes the genes in the top sentinel species for lake and pond sediment toxicology (used extensively by the US Environmental Protection Agency) whose transcription is modulated by harmful chemicals in the environment. Libraries and sequences are produced for genes responding to the following environmentally relevant chemicals by mature males, mature females and juveniles: the toxic heavy metal cadmium, Atrazine (one of the most widely used herbicides), and the PCB Aroclor (ranked as one of the most hazardous compounds to ecosystems and human health and of primary concern to Bloomington Indiana, home of the Westinghouse Bloomington PCB Superfund site), plus reference conditions.

PROJECT LEADERS: John Colbourne

FUNDING: Collaboration in Life Sciences & Informatics Research Grant (Indiana/Purdue Universities)

DATA: Sequencing is complete. Project updates are posted.