Preprint Article Version 3 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Cross-species Transcriptomics Analysis Highlights Conserved Molecular Responses to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)

Version 1 : Received: 2 June 2023 / Approved: 6 June 2023 / Online: 6 June 2023 (08:22:33 CEST)
Version 2 : Received: 15 June 2023 / Approved: 16 June 2023 / Online: 16 June 2023 (10:47:55 CEST)
Version 3 : Received: 26 June 2023 / Approved: 27 June 2023 / Online: 28 June 2023 (02:33:02 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Beccacece, L.; Costa, F.; Pascali, J.P.; Giorgi, F.M. Cross-Species Transcriptomics Analysis Highlights Conserved Molecular Responses to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances. Toxics 2023, 11, 567. Beccacece, L.; Costa, F.; Pascali, J.P.; Giorgi, F.M. Cross-Species Transcriptomics Analysis Highlights Conserved Molecular Responses to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances. Toxics 2023, 11, 567.

Abstract

In the recent decades, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have garnered widespread public attention due to their persistence in the environment and detrimental effects on the health of living organisms, spurring the generation of several transcriptome-centered investigations to understand the biological basis of their mechanism. In this study, we collected 2144 publicly available samples from 7 distinct animal species to examine the molecular responses to PFAS exposure and to determine if there are conserved responses. Our comparative transcriptional analysis revealed that exposure to PFAS is conserved across different tissues, molecules and species. We identified and reported several genes exhibiting consistent and evolutionarily conserved transcriptional response to PFAS, such as ESR1, HADHA and ID1, as well as several pathways including lipid metabolism, immune response and hormone pathways. This study provides the first evidence that distinct PFAS molecules induce comparable transcriptional changes and affect the same metabolic processes across inter-species borders. Our findings have significant implications for understanding the impact of PFAS exposure on living organisms and the environment. We believe that this study offers a novel perspective on the molecular responses to PFAS exposure and provides a foundation for future research into developing strategies for mitigating the detrimental effects of these substances in the ecosystem.

Keywords

PFAS; metabolism; transcriptomics; transcriptome; cross-species analysis

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

Comments (1)

Comment 1
Received: 28 June 2023
Commenter: Federico Giorgi
Commenter's Conflict of Interests: Author
Comment: Validation and clarification sentences were added. Also, minor typos were fixed.
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