Omics technologies and their applications to evaluate metal toxicity in mice M. spretus as a bioindicator

Abstract

Metals are important components of living organisms since many biological functions critically depend on their interaction with some meta l in the cell. However, human activities have increased toxic metal levels in the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems affecting living organisms. The impact of metals on cellular metabolism and global homeostasis has been traditionally assessed in free-living organisms by using conventional biomarkers; however, to obtain a global vision of metal toxicity mechanisms and the res ponses that metals elicit in the organisms, new analytical methodologies are needed. We re view the use of omics approaches to assess the response of living organisms under metal stress illustrating the possibilities of different methodologies on the basis of our previous re sults. Most of this research has been based on free-living mice Mus spretus , a conventional bioindicator used to monitor metal pollution in Doñana National Park (DNP) (SW Spain), which is a n important European biological reserve for migrating birds affected by agricu ltural, mining and industrial ac tivities. The benefits of using omic techniques such as heterologous microarrays, proteomics methodologies (2-DE, iTRAQ®), metallomics, ionomics or metabolomics has been remarked; however, the complexity of these areas requires the integration of omics to achieve a comprehensive assessment of their environmental status. This article is part of a Speci al Issue entitled: Enviro nmental and structural proteomics. Biological Significance This work presents new contributions in the study of environmental metal pollution in terrestrial ecosystems using Mus spretus mi ce as bioindicator in Doñana National Park