ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATIONS OF EARTHWORM METABOLOMICS

Abstract

This thesis aims to understand earthworm Perionyx excavatus biochemistry in environmental processes using metabolomics. In chapter 2, 1H NMR metabolomics revealed that earthworms underwent increasing and then decreasing metabolic activity in continuous vermifiltration for two months. In chapter 3 and 4, the metabolism and toxicity of two industrial chemicals tri-n-butyl phosphate and triphenyl phosphate in earthworms were investigated by GC-MS and LC-QTOF. Novel phase II conjugations were identified: phosphate conjugations and thiols conjugations. Significant perturbations in endogenous metabolome were found only after acute exposure. Overall, these applications offered unprecedented insights in vermifilter operation and xenobiotics detoxification in P. excavatus.