Development of NGRA tools: Understanding critical pathways regulating environmental relevant species-traits and development of a trait-based screening panel

The growing population, competitive economy and climate change have led to increased use of pesticides and pharmaceuticals in food production that then enter the environment. Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) is essential for handling the growing demand for chemicals while protecting the environment. However, the current ERA protocols for regulatory toxicology are limited to testing adverse effects on a small number of representative species while disregarding the molecular mechanisms that underlie them. Therefore, the New Generation ERA (NGRA) tools include predictive frameworks such as the Adverse Outcome Pathway framework that accompany in vitro techniques in surpassing animal testing. The goal of this project is to further develop the NGRA tools for invertebrate specific traits using Drosophila melanogaster and the S2 cell line as a model system.