Dufulin is a highly effective antiviral pesticide used in plants. In this study, a seven-day experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of Dufulin at five different concentrations (1 × 10-4, 1 × 10-3, 1 × 10-2, 0.1, and 1 mg/L) on Tubifex. LC-MS-based metabolome analysis detected a total of 5356 features in positive and 9110 features in negative, of which 41 showed significant changes and were identified as differential metabolites. Four metabolic pathways were selected for further study. Detailed analysis revealed that Dufulin exposure affected the urea cycle of Tubifex, probably via argininosuccinate lyase (ASL) inhibition. It also affected the fatty acid metabolism, leading to changes in the concentration of free fatty acids in Tubifex. Furthermore, the changes in metabolites after exposure to Dufulin at 1 × 10-2 mg/L were different from those at the other concentrations.
Keywords: Tubifex; argininosuccinate lyase; metabolomics; urea cycle.