Copper contamination of coastal waters is a long-standing problem in many regions. Copper water quality criteria in marine waters is often determined with bivalve embryo-larval toxicity tests which measure survival and normal development as endpoints. Gene expression data is increasingly incorporated into such assays as a complementary and sensitive marker of contaminant exposure or toxicity. Here, we measured the impacts of copper on Mytilus californianus larval transcriptional profiles, and identified sensitive biomarkers of copper exposure. Key functional categories that were identified among these genes include biomineralization/shell formation, metal binding, and development. Finally, we compared the transcriptional response of larvae to that of adult gill tissue, and show in both datasets that patterns of declining transcript expression occur at lower copper concentrations than those required to induce increases in transcript expression, suggesting that down-regulated genes serve as the most sensitive marker of copper exposure.

中文翻译：

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RNAseq 揭示了加州贻贝幼虫和成虫中敏感的、浓度依赖的铜转录标记

沿海水域的铜污染是许多地区长期存在的问题。海水中的铜水质标准通常通过双壳类胚胎-幼虫毒性试验来确定，该试验以存活和正常发育为终点。基因表达数据越来越多地被纳入此类分析，作为污染物暴露或毒性的补充和敏感标记。在这里，我们测量了铜对贻贝幼虫转录谱的影响，并确定了铜暴露的敏感生物标志物。在这些基因中确定的关键功能类别包括生物矿化/壳形成、金属结合和发育。最后，我们比较了幼虫和成虫鳃组织的转录反应，