Biomonitoring of aquatic environment and assessment of ecosystem health play essential roles in the development of effective strategies for the protection of the environment, human health and sustainable development. Biomarkers of pollution exposure have been extensively utilized in the last few decades to monitor the health of organisms and hence assess environmental status. However, the use of single biomarkers against biotic or abiotic stressors may be limited by the lack of sensitivity and specificity. Therefore, more recently, the search for novel biomarkers has been focused on the application of OMICS methodologies. Environmental proteomics focuses on the analysis of an organisms proteome and the detection of changes in the level of individual proteins/peptides in response to environmental stressors. Proteomics can provide a more robust approach for the assessment of environmental stress and therefore exposure to pollutants. This review aims to summarize the proteomic research in bivalves, a group of sessile and filter feeding organisms that play an important function as "sentinels" of the aquatic environment. A description of the main proteomic methodologies is provided. The current knowledge in bivalves toxicology, achieved with proteomics, is reported describing the main biochemical markers identified. A brief discussion regarding future challenges in this area of research emphasizing the development of more descriptive gene/protein databases that could support the OMICs approaches is presented. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanThis article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Farm animal proteomics.
The global analysis of the cellular lipid and protein content upon exposure to metal and metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) can provide an overviewof the possible impact of exposure. Proteomic analysis has been applied to understand the nanoimpact however the relevance of the alterationon the lipidic proOle has been underestimated. In our study, primary mouse hepatocytes were treated with ultra-small (US) TiO2-USNPsas well as ZnO-NPs, CuO-NPs and Ag-NPs. e protein extracts were analysed by 2D-DIGE and quantiOed by imaging soPware and the selecteddi9erentially expressed proteins were identiOed by nLC-ESI-MS/MS. In parallel, lipidomic analysis of the samples was performed usingthin layer chromatography (TLC) and analyzed by imaging soPware. Our Ondings show an overall ranking of the nanoimpact at the cellularand molecular level: TiO2-USNPs<ZnO-NPs<Ag-NPs<CuO-NPs. CuO-NPs and Ag-NPs were cytotoxic while ZnO-NPs and CuO-NPs hadoxidative capacity. TiO2-USNPs did not have oxidative capacity and were not cytotoxic. e most common cellular impact of the exposurewas the down-regulation of proteins. e proteins identiOed were involved in urea cycle, lipid metabolism, electron transport chain, metabolismsignaling, cellular structure and we could also identify nuclear proteins. CuO-NPs exposure decreased phosphatidylethanolamine andphosphatidylinositol and caused down-regulation of electron transferring protein subunit beta. Ag-NPs exposure caused increased of totallipids and triacylglycerol and decrease of sphingomyelin. TiO2-USNPs also caused decrease of sphingomyelin as well as up-regulation of ATPsynthase and electron transferring protein alfa. ZnO-NPs a9ected the proteome in a concentration-independent manner with down-regulationof RNA helicase. ZnO-NPs exposure did not a9ect the cellular lipids. To our knowledge this work represents the Orst integrated proteomic andlipidomic approach to study the e9ect of NPs exposure to primary mouse hepatocytes in vitro.
In order to cope with the increasing demand for fishery products, sensitive technological tools are required to ensure high quality and wholesomeness and to monitor their production process in a sustainable manner while complying with the strict standards imposed by regulatory authorities. Proteomics may assist the industry as it allows an unbiased approach in the discovery of biomarkers that could be used to increase our understanding of different biological, physiological and ecological aspects that may be advantageous in optimizing quality and safety in aquatic species. The aim of this review is to highlight the potential of cost-effective high-throughput technologies, such as those offered by proteomics using "on-line" mass spectrometry to improve the efficiency of the industry in identifying biomarkers relevant for safe high quality products.