Coupling genome-wide transcriptomics and developmental toxicity profiles in zebrafish to characterize polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) hazard

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are diverse environmental pollutants associated with adverse human health effects. Many studies focus on the carcinogenic effects of a limited number of PAHs and there is an increasing need to understand mechanisms of developmental toxicity of more varied yet environmentally relevant PAHs. A previous study characterized the developmental toxicity of 123 PAHs in zebrafish. Based on phenotypic responses ranging from complete inactivity to acute mortality, we classified these PAHs into eight bins, selected 16 representative PAHs, and exposed developing zebrafish to the concentration of each PAH that induced 80% phenotypic effect. We conducted RNA sequencing at 48 h post fertilization to identify gene expression changes as a result of PAH exposure. Each biological sample consisted of 8 embryos with 4 biological replicates per condition, for a total of 72 samples. DMSO was used as the control on both sample collectiong days.