ABSTRACT
Omics technologies have vastly improved our understanding of chemical toxicity in fishes. These approaches include proteomics and metabolomics/lipidomics which aim to measure the totality of proteins or metabolites in a tissue. Proteomics and metabolomics have shaped knowledge of how fishes respond to their chemical environment. Proteomics in fish toxicology has adapted both label (e.g., tandem mass tags, isobaric tags for relative, and absolute quantitation) and label-free methods (e.g., spectral counting and multiple reaction monitoring) to detect proteins responsive to chemical stressors in both the laboratory and in the natural environment. Both targeted and untargeted metabolomics have been conducted to study toxicant exposure in fishes, and the field has seen significant advances in lipidomics. In this chapter, we focus on these two unique research disciplines that utilize analytical chemistry and mass spectrometry. We introduce proteomics and metabolomics, discussing the analytical and quantitative methods used to capture molecular information in fishes in response to toxicants. We discuss recent case studies and innovative approaches that underscore their strengths and weaknesses. Lastly, we present studies using multiomics approaches in fish that integrate proteomic and metabolomic data to yield a more comprehensive framework for risk assessment. The advantage of a multiomics approach is improved understanding of the molecular events that underscore physiological adaptation and compensation to chemical stressors. Recommendations for future studies utilizing proteomics and metabolomics are described. Such mechanistic data are essential for advancing adverse outcome pathways in fish ecotoxicology.
