Key Laboratory of Coastal Zone Environmental Processes, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research (YIC), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Yantai, 264003, Shandong, People's Republic of China.
Ecotoxicology. 2012 Nov;21(8):2363-71. doi: 10.1007/s10646-012-0992-2. Epub 2012 Aug 28.
Lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) are two typical metal contaminants with high levels in both seawater and sediment in the intertidal zones of the Bohai Sea. Suaeda salsa is the pioneer halophyte plant in the intertidal zones of the Bohai Sea. In the present work, the short (1 week) and long term (1 month) toxicological effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of Pb and Zn were characterized in S. salsa using NMR-based metabolomics combined with antioxidant enzyme activities. After metal exposure for 1 week, no significant metabolic responses were detected in root tissues of S. salsa. The significant metabolic responses included the increase of isocaproate, glucose and fructose, and decrease of malate, citrate and sucrose in root tissues of S. salsa exposed to Pb for 1 month. The increased phosphocholine and betaine, and decreased choline were uniquely found in Zn-exposed samples. The metabolic changes including decreased malate, citrate and sucrose were detected in both Pb and Zn-exposed groups. These metabolic biomarkers revealed that both Pb and Zn exposures could induce osmotic stress and disturbances in energy metabolism in S. salsa after exposures for 1 month. Overall, this work demonstrates that metabolomics can be used to elucidate toxicological effects of environmentally relevant metal contaminants using halophyte S. salsa as the bioindicator.
铅（Pb）和锌（Zn）是渤海潮间带海水和沉积物中含量较高的两种典型金属污染物。盐地碱蓬是渤海潮间带的先锋盐生植物。在本工作中，采用基于核磁共振的代谢组学结合抗氧化酶活性，研究了环境相关浓度的 Pb 和 Zn 对盐地碱蓬的短期（1 周）和长期（1 个月）毒性效应。金属暴露 1 周后，盐地碱蓬根组织未检测到明显的代谢反应。暴露 1 个月后，Pb 处理组盐地碱蓬根组织中出现了异亮氨酸、葡萄糖和果糖的增加，以及苹果酸、柠檬酸和蔗糖的减少等显著代谢反应。而 Zn 处理组中则出现了磷酸胆碱和甜菜碱的增加和胆碱的减少等独特的代谢反应。Pb 和 Zn 暴露组均检测到苹果酸、柠檬酸和蔗糖的减少等代谢变化。这些代谢生物标志物表明，Pb 和 Zn 暴露 1 个月后均可诱导盐地碱蓬产生渗透胁迫和能量代谢紊乱。总之，该研究表明，代谢组学可用于利用盐地碱蓬作为生物标志物来阐明环境相关金属污染物的毒性效应。
