Meeting Abstract
P2.31 Monday, Jan. 5 Linking organic pollutants to tumor growth in arrow goby, Clevelandia ios, in Morro Bay: Proteomics as a tool for biomarker discovery JOHNSON, S.E.*; TOMANEK, L.; California Polytechnic State University Esquiba@aol.com
Morro Bay is a marine sanctuary on the central coast of California. It is considered a pristine ecosystem; showing little contamination from urban or agricultural inputs. However, our preliminary studies have shown a high incidence of primordial gonadal and liver tumors in arrow goby, Clevlandia ios, collected from the mudflats in Morro Bay. This is indicative of persistent organic pollutants: chemicals that are found in extremely low levels in water and are not easily detected by traditional water quality methods; however, they do harmfully accumulate in organisms. Through chemical analysis we found high levels of 4-nonylphenol in arrow goby tissues, as well as in sediment and water from the bay. Nonylphenol is a persistent end product of the biodegradation of alkylphenol ethoxylates, a group of chemicals that are used as surfactants in household and commercial products. Previous data on persistent organic pollutants in Morro Bay is been limited because detection by existing water testing regimes is deficient, though the biological effect is present. Therefore, new sensitive tools for measuring the biological response to wetland contaminants are urgently needed before detrimental effects such as tumors or reproductive impairments occur. We are developing a tool via proteomics to identify biomarkers of chemical contamination. Through in-lab exposure to nonylphenol, and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis we can track the simultaneous changes in expression of hundreds to thousands of arrow goby liver proteins. We will identify proteins of interest with mass spectrometry; and though the arrow goby is not a model organism, we have already successfully identified several proteins using MALDI-TOF-TOF mass spectrometry. Once developed, such biomarkers can then be used to as an early detection to announce the presence of emerging pollutants.
