Environmental omics can provide informative biomarkers for identifying pathologies or physiological responses to environmental change. Nucleic acid adductomics, one of the newest omics techniques, is particularly well suited for assessing exposure and effects of environmental contaminants because the technique can capture modifications at the (epi)genome level. However, identifying potential adduct-biomarkers is challenging, especially in non-model organisms. Therefore, the primary aims of this study were to improve the methodology and explore the applicability of nucleic acid adductomics in environmental monitoring of the biological effects of contaminants, using amphipods as sentinel species.

From a methodology perspective, this thesis presents a gradual progression in screening and detecting DNA modifications. The mass spectrometry (MS) based approach for identifying candidate DNA adducts utilized the characteristic neutral loss of deoxyribose. In Paper I, the data generated from high resolution MS in Full Scan-Data independent Acquisition mode were analyzed manually using the fragmentation pattern of nucleoside adduct ions. In Paper II, processing time and efficiency were significantly improved by the development of nLossFinder software. Further, TraceFinder software was combined and used to evaluate and quantify detected adducts (Paper III). Another important development was a simultaneous approach for analysis of  both DNA and RNA adducts in a single MS run presented in Paper IV. 

The analysis of amphipod samples based on the existing approaches and methods developed in this thesis showed that reproductive pathologies identified by the microscopic analysis were associated with specific DNA modifications that can be used to classify field-collected individuals according to their health status (Paper I). Moreover, epigenetic marks were the most influential adducts for this classification. Finally, the adduct profile of amphipods differed between the areas with relatively high and low contamination loads based on PAH and trace metal concentrations in the sediment (Paper III). Also, significant correlations were found between DNA adducts and specific contaminants.

These method developments and findings uniquely contribute to the field of environmental omics, providing tools for data processing and demonstrating the applicability of nucleic acid adductomics in environmental health research and biological effect monitoring.