Recent applications of DNA Microarray technology to Toxicology and Ecotoxicology

Gene expression represents a unique way of characterizing how cells and organisms adapt to changes in the external environment. The measurements of gene expression levels, upon exposure to a chemical, can be used both to provide information about the mechanism of action of the toxicant, and also to form a sort of “genetic signature” for the identification of toxic products. The development of high quality, commercially available, gene arrays has allowed this technology to become a standard tool in molecular toxicology. Several national and international initiatives have provided the proof-ofprinciple tests for the application of gene expression to study the toxicity of new and existing chemical compounds. In the last few years, the field has progressed from evaluating the potential of the technology to illustrating the practical use of gene expression profiling in toxicology. The application of gene expression profiling to ecotoxicology is at an earlier stage, mainly due to the many more variables involved in analyzing the status of natural populations. Nevertheless, significant studies have been carried out to study the response to environmental stressors both in model and non-model organisms. It can be easily predicted that the development of stressor-specific signatures in gene expression profiling in ecotoxicology will have a major impact on the ecotoxicology field in the near future. International collaborations could play an important role in accelerating the application of genomic approaches in ecotoxicology

LETTIERI Teresa; 

2006-02-17

US DEPT HEALTH HUMAN SCIENCES PUBLIC HEALTH SCIENCE

JRC32557

0091-6765,   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC32557,   

10.1289/ehp.8194,