Are we closer to the vision? A proposed framework for incorporating omics into environmental assessments

Environmental science has benefited a great deal from omics-based technologies. High-throughput toxicology has defined adverse outcome pathways (AOPs), prioritized chemicals of concern, and identified novel actions of environmental chemicals. While many of these approaches are conducted under rigorous laboratory conditions, a significant challenge has been the interpretation of omics data in “real-world” exposure scenarios. Clarity in the interpretation of these data limits their use in environmental monitoring programs. In recent years, one overarching objective of many has been to address fundamental questions concerning experimental design and the robustness of data collected under the broad umbrella of environmental genomics. These questions include: (1) the likelihood that molecular profiles return to a predefined baseline level following remediation efforts, (2) how reference site selection in an urban environment influences interpretation of omics data and (3) what is the most appropriate species to monitor in the environment from an omics point of view. In addition, inter-genomics studies have been conducted to assess transcriptome reproducibility in toxicology studies. One lesson learned from inter-genomics studies is that there are core molecular networks that can be identified by multiple laboratories using the same platform. This supports the idea that “omics-networks” defined a priori may be a viable approach moving forward for evaluating environmental impacts over time. Both spatial and temporal variability in ecosystem structure is expected to influence molecular responses to environmental stressors, and it is important to recognize how these variables, as well as individual factor (i.e. sex, age, maturation), may confound interpretation of network responses to chemicals. This mini-review synthesizes the progress made towards adopting these tools into environmental monitoring and identifies future challenges to be addressed, as we move into the next era of high throughput sequencing. A conceptual framework for validating and incorporating molecular networks into environmental monitoring programs is proposed. As AOPs become more defined and their potential in environmental monitoring assessments becomes more recognized, the AOP framework may prove to be the conduit between omics and penultimate ecological responses for environmental risk assessments.