Integrative Inducer Intervention and Transcriptomic Analyses Reveal the Metabolism of Paralytic Shellfish Toxins in Azumapecten farreri

Paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) are widely distributed neurotoxins, and the PST metabolic detoxification mechanism in bivalves has received increasing attention. To reveal the effect of phase I (cytochrome P450)-II (GST)-III (ABC transport) metabolic systems on the PST metabolism in Azumapecten farreri, this study amplified stress on the target systems using rifampicin, dl-α-tocopherol, and colchicine; measured PST levels; and conducted transcriptomic analyses. The highest toxin content reached 1623.48 μg STX eq/kg in the hepatopancreas and only 8.8% of that in the gills. Inducer intervention significantly decreased hepatopancreatic PST accumulation. The proportional reductions in the rifampicin-, dl-α-tocopherol-, and colchicine-induced groups were 55.3%, 50.4%, and 36.1%, respectively. Transcriptome analysis showed that 11 modules were significantly correlated with PST metabolism (six positive/five negative), with phase I CYP450 and phase II glutathione metabolism significantly enriched in negatively correlated pathways. Twenty-three phase I-II-III core genes were further validated using qRT-PCR and correlated with PST metabolism, revealing that CYP46A1, CYP4F6, GSTM1, and ABCF2 were significantly correlated, while CYP4F11 and ABCB1 were indirectly correlated. In conclusion, phase I-II-III detoxification enzyme systems jointly participate in the metabolic detoxification of PSTs in A. farreri. This study provides key data support to profoundly elucidate the PST metabolic detoxification mechanism in bivalves.