Project

Interactive effects of insecticides and cyanobacterial stress in Daphnia pulex: Development of a predictive model using gene expression microarrays and support vector machines

Code
178BW0911
Duration
01 October 2010 → 05 January 2016
Funding
Regional and community funding: IWT/VLAIO
Research disciplines
  • Natural sciences
    • Ecotoxicology
    • Transcriptomics
    • Aquatic sciences, challenges and pollution not elsewhere classified
Keywords
insecticides
 
Project description

Aquatic ecosystems are complex environments where organisms interact with a heterogeneous group of stressors from anthropogenic and natural origin. Yet, current risk assessment practices fail to include these combined effects of stressors and their potential interaction as they primarily use a chemical-by-chemical approach. The lack of sufficient comprehensive data in literature and the lack of predictive models further impede the incorporation of combined and interaction effect in environmental regulation.

Combined and interaction effects are likely to increase significantly in the future. Anthropogenic factors and climate change conditions stimulate bloom formation of potential toxic cyanobacteria. These organisms are an emerging concern for both environmental and public health. Although effects on mammals are well documented and understood, the mechanisms driving adverse effects on zooplankton species remain unclear and research is largely biased towards effects of Microcystis.

The project therefore focuses on developing new techniques based on RNA expression profiles to estimate combined effects of cyanobacterial stress and pesticide stress on the water flea.