The Zebra Mussel () as a Model Organism for Ecotoxicological Studies: A Prior H NMR Spectrum Interpretation of a Whole Body Extract for Metabolism Monitoring.

The zebra mussel () represents a useful reference organism for the ecotoxicological study of inland waters, especially for the characterization of the disturbances induced by human activities. A nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomic approach was developed on this species. The investigation of its informative potential required the prior interpretation of a reference H NMR spectrum of a lipid-free zebra mussel extract. After the extraction of polar metabolites from a pool of whole-body powder, the resulting highly complex 1D H NMR spectrum was interpreted and annotated through the analysis of the corresponding 2D homonuclear and heteronuclear NMR spectra. The spectrum interpretation was completed and validated by means of sample spiking with 24 commercial compounds. Among the 238 detected H signals, 53% were assigned, resulting in the identification of 37 metabolites with certainty or high confidence, while 5 metabolites were only putatively identified. The description of such a reference spectrum and its annotation are expected to speed up future analyses and interpretations of NMR-based metabolomic studies on and to facilitate further explorations of the impact of environmental changes on its physiological state, more particularly in the context of large-scale ecological and ecotoxicological studies.