Evolutionary toxicology in an omics world

Abstract

Evolutionary toxicology is a young field that has grown rapidly in the past two decades. The potential of this field comes from the ability to link chemical contamination to multigenerational and population‐wide effects in various species. The advancements and rapidly decreasing costs of ‐omic tools are improving the power and resolution of evolutionary toxicology studies. In this manuscript, we aim to address the trajectories and perspectives for conducting evolutionary toxicology studies with ‐omic approaches. We discuss the complementarity of using multiple ‐omic tools (genomics, eDNA, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) for utility in understanding the toxicological relevance of adaptive responses in populations. In addition, we discuss phenotypic plasticity and its relevance to transcriptomic studies in toxicology. As evolutionary toxicology grows and expands its capacity to link toxicology with population‐wide end points, we emphasize the applications of such studies in answering questions about ecological and population health, as well as future applicability to regulation. Thus, we aim to emphasize the enormous potential for evolutionary toxicology in an ‐omics world and give perspectives on the directions of future investigations.

Turning natural adaptations to oncogenic factors into an ally in the war against cancer

“…However, another study in mice suggested that, in the absence of a xenobiotic ligand, the AHR gene can function as a tumor suppressor gene (Fan et al., ). The above highlights the complexity of the studies we advocate, but that with the inclusion of transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, we will ultimately be able to better understand phenotypic linkages to genotypes (Oziolor et al., ). Understanding that may prove crucial to enable the integration of ecotoxicological knowledge in human cancer research.…”

On biological evolution and environmental solutions

“…There is a frequent use of methods and technologies originating from evolutionary biology. In particular, molecular genetic methods are often used to characterise microbial community composition (Das and Dash, 2019), and the patterns of gene expression of individual organisms and communities (Oziolor et al, 2017). While such methods are undeniably useful to gain functional insights, they are rarely used in environmental science to study evolutionary processes.…”

“…For example, experimental Daphnia populations that were initially highly sensitive to metal contamination recovered rapidly via genetic adaptation (Hochmuth et al, 2015). In another example, natural killifish populations inhabiting urban estuaries adapted to lethal levels of pollutants with genetic adaptations (Oziolor et al, 2017;Reid et al, 2016). Unsurprisingly, adaptation of a population can also be an unwanted outcome of management, such as when the evolution of resistance reduces the sensitivity of a species used in ecological risk assessment (Morgan et al, 2007).…”

Review of and Recommendations for Monitoring Contaminants and their Effects in the San Francisco Bay−Delta

“…In addition to epigenetic mechanisms, multigenerational effects may also be observed as a result of evolutionary changes, when some highly adaptable species are able to evolve tolerance to particular contaminants (Medina et al 2007;Whitehead et al 2017). This results in differences in sensitivity to contaminants across populations (Brady et al 2017), and potentially leads to decreased genetic diversity and fitness costs in the adapted populations (Oziolor et al 2017;Major et al 2018). Evolutionary toxicology is a discrete field aimed at evaluating the effects of chemical pollutants on the genetics of natural populations, which is critical when species of conservation concern are evaluated (Bickham 2011).…”