Rapid warning system to predict chemical hazards in wild European eel (Anguilla anguilla): Transcriptomic approach in food risk assessment

Heavy metals present in fish muscle pose a risk to consumers. Biomarkers could reveal the accumulation of these toxic contaminants early without having to resort to muscle analysis. In this study, a specific objective was pursued: to identify biomarkers to be proposed as sensitive tools in risk assessment analyzes using European eels as sentinel animals, captured from four rivers in Salerno province (southern Italy). Among the four genes chosen for this analysis, that of Acyl-Peptide Hydrolase 2 (APEH2) seems to qualify as an excellent biomarker, whose transcriptional profile responds well even to small levels of toxic metals. Statistical analyses (ANOVA, PCA) have shown that variations in the expression of the APEH2 gene, both in the liver and in the gills of eels, could provide important information on the health status of the aquatic animal, on possible exposure to toxic heavy metals and on the quality and safety of the meat.