Epigenetics & Ecotoxicology
Exploring Epigenetics as a Tool for Ecotoxicological Work
2025-10-21
Overview
What happens when environmental exposure leaves a molecular “memory”?
How do these changes get passed on to offspring?
What role can epigenetics play in ecotoxicology work?
Image credit: OSHA
What Is Ecotoxicology?
Interdisciplinary science that interrogates nature, effects and the interaction of substances harmful to the environment
Pivoting from ocean warming, acidification and biotoxins to focus on contaminants
Image credit: Ecotoxicology and Risk Assessment of Contaminated Water, Springer 2024
Ecotoxicology
Image credit: Major interdisciplinary approaches in ecotoxicology; adapted from Amiard-Triquet et al., 2015
Environmental Epigenetics & AOPs
- Epigenetic markers can serve as biomarkers of exposure
Image credit: EPA
Key Takeaway: Environmental stressors leave “molecular footprints” that link ecology and physiology
Can Experience Be Inherited?
“If a parent is exposed to pesticides, could its grandchildren be affected—even if they never encounter those chemicals?”
Key idea: environmental exposures can alter gene expression without changing DNA sequence
Image credit: Sol Dourdin et al., 2023
Methods Snapshot
- Parental (F0) exposure → offspring (F1) analysis
- Measures included:
- Growth/morphology, behavior/stress response, & methylation/ gene expression profiling
- Controlled design mimicking environmentally relevant concentrations
Image credit: Sol Dourdin et al., 2023
Key Findings
- Offspring from exposed parents showed:
- Altered phenotype (e.g., reduced growth or altered behavior)
- Epigenetic changes linked to exposure
- No DNA sequence changes — effects are epigenetic
- Suggests intergenerational inheritance of pesticide effects
