Issue 1, 2018

Physiological modes of action across species and toxicants: the key to predictive ecotoxicology

Abstract

As ecotoxicologists we strive for a better understanding of how chemicals affect our environment. Humanity needs tools to identify those combinations of man-made chemicals and organisms most likely to cause problems. In other words: which of the millions of species are at risk from pollution? And which of the tens of thousands of chemicals contribute most to the risk? We identified our poor knowledge on physiological modes of action (how a chemical affects the energy allocation in an organism), and how they vary across species and toxicants, as a major knowledge gap. We also find that the key to predictive ecotoxicology is the systematic, rigorous characterization of physiological modes of action because that will enable more powerful in vitro to in vivo toxicity extrapolation and in silico ecotoxicology. In the near future, we expect a step change in our ability to study physiological modes of action by improved, and partially automated, experimental methods. Once we have populated the matrix of species and toxicants with sufficient physiological mode of action data we can look for patterns, and from those patterns infer general rules, theory and models.

Graphical abstract: Physiological modes of action across species and toxicants: the key to predictive ecotoxicology

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Perspective
Submitted
19 Jul 2017
Accepted
05 Oct 2017
First published
01 Nov 2017
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2018,20, 48-57

Physiological modes of action across species and toxicants: the key to predictive ecotoxicology

R. Ashauer and T. Jager, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2018, 20, 48 DOI: 10.1039/C7EM00328E

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