Self-detoxification behaviors and tissue-specific metabolic responses of fishes growing in erythromycin-contaminated water

Abstract

Erythromycin has caused severe risk on the aquatic ecological environment and food chain propagation due to its extensive use, environmental persistence, and low efficiency of sewage removal. Our study monitored the erythromycin accumulation, self-detoxification behavior, and metabolic response of turbot in erythromycin-contaminated environments using a multi-omics method with the aim to improve the safety of turbot consumption and provide guidance for turbot culture. Erythromycin was found to rapidly accumulated and reached its peak in turbot in the first two days of exposure to erythromycin. Residual levels in the gill, liver, kidney, muscle, and blood were detected at 95.19, 72.80, 68.74, 51.3, and 12.33 ng/g, respectively. The risk of erythromycin residues in turbot can be effectively reduced by a withdrawal period longer than 12 d. Erythromycin-contaminated turbot muscles showed a significant decrease in flavor properties, particularly umami, sweet, and aroma precursors. A total of 232 lipids in four main categories, glycerides, phospholipids, fatty acyl, and sphingolipids, were found to show significant changes in the turbot muscles. The interacting metabolic network formed by taurine, glycerophospholipid, arginine, alanine, and glutamate metabolism, wherein turbot responded to erythromycin was verified through 14 significantly altered metabolites. A withdrawal period of at least half a month and the corresponding product labels for antibiotics should be formulated before the fish exposed to antibiotics during intensive culture are sold to protect the interests of consumers. This study could serve as a reference for the quality and safety risk assessment of turbot and other highly economical fishes affected by antibiotics exposure.