US Department of Agriculture, Wildlife Services, National Wildlife Research Center, MS State, MS, 39762, USA.
Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, USA.
Sci Rep. 2019 Jan 23;9(1):371. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-36688-3.
We assessed adverse effects of external sublethal exposure of Deepwater Horizon, Mississippi Canyon 252 oil on plasma and liver metabolome profiles of the double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus), a large (1.5 to 3.0 kg) diving waterbird common in the Gulf of Mexico. Metabolomics analysis of avian plasma showed significant negative effects on avian metabolic profiles, in some cases after only two external exposures (26 g cumulative) to oil. We observed significant (p < 0.05) changes in intermediate metabolites of energy metabolism and fatty acid and amino acid metabolic pathways in cormorants after repeated exposure to oil. Exposure to oil increased several metabolites (glycine, betaine, serine and methionine) that are essential to the one-carbon metabolism pathway. Lipid metabolism was affected, causing an increase in production of ketone bodies, suggesting lipids were used as an alternative energy source for energy production in oil exposed birds. In addition, metabolites associated with hepatic bile acid metabolism were affected by oil exposure which was correlated with changes observed in bile acids in exposed birds. These changes at the most basic level of phenotypic expression caused by sublethal exposure to oil can have effects that would be detrimental to reproduction, migration, and survival in avian species.
我们评估了密西西比峡谷 252 号油田深海地平线（Deepwater Horizon）的外部亚致死暴露对双冠鸬鹚（Phalacrocorax auritus）血浆和肝脏代谢组谱的不良影响，双冠鸬鹚是一种常见于墨西哥湾的大型（1.5 至 3.0 公斤）潜水水鸟。鸟类血浆的代谢组学分析表明，鸟类代谢谱受到显著的负面影响，在某些情况下，仅经过两次外部暴露（26 克累积）就会受到石油影响。我们观察到，在重复接触石油后，鸬鹚的能量代谢和脂肪酸及氨基酸代谢途径中的中间代谢物发生了显著变化（p<0.05）。暴露于石油会增加几种代谢物（甘氨酸、甜菜碱、丝氨酸和蛋氨酸），这些代谢物对一碳代谢途径至关重要。脂质代谢受到影响，导致酮体的产生增加，这表明在暴露于石油的鸟类中，脂质被用作替代能源来产生能量。此外，与肝胆汁酸代谢相关的代谢物也受到石油暴露的影响，这与暴露于石油的鸟类中胆汁酸的变化有关。这些由亚致死暴露于石油引起的最基本表型表达水平的变化可能对繁殖、迁徙和鸟类的生存产生不利影响。
