Validation of Salamander Dermal Mucus Swabs as a Novel, Nonlethal Approach for Amphibian Metabolomics and Glutathione Analysis Following Pesticide Exposure

Evaluating biomarkers of stress in amphibians is critical to conservation, yet current techniques are often destructive and/or time‐consuming, which limits ease of use. In the present study, we validate the use of dermal swabs in spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) for biochemical profiling, as well as glutathione (GSH) stress response following pesticide exposure. Thirty‐three purchased spotted salamanders were acclimated to laboratory conditions at Washington College (Chestertown, MD, USA) for 4 weeks. Following acclimation, salamanders were randomly sorted into three groups for an 8‐h pesticide exposure on soil: control with no pesticide, 2,4‐dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4‐D), or chlorpyrifos. Before and after exposure, mucus samples were obtained by gently rubbing a polyester‐tipped swab 50 times across the ventral and dorsal surfaces. Salamanders were humanely euthanized and dissected to remove the brain for acetylcholinesterase and liver for GSH and hepatic metabolome analyses, and a whole‐body tissue homogenate was used for pesticide quantification. Levels of GSH were present in lower quantities on dermal swabs relative to liver tissues for chlorpyrifos, 2,4‐D, and control treatments. However, 2,4‐D exposures demonstrated a large effect size increase for GSH levels in livers (Cohen's d = 0.925, p = 0.036). Other GSH increases were statistically insignificant, and effect sizes were characterized as small for 2,4‐D mucosal swabs (d = 0.36), medium for chlorpyrifos mucosal swabs (d = 0.713), and negligible for chlorpyrifos liver levels (d = 0.012). The metabolomics analyses indicated that the urea cycle, alanine, and glutamate metabolism biological pathways were perturbed by both sets of pesticide exposures. Obtaining mucus samples through dermal swabbing in amphibians is a viable technique for evaluating health in these imperiled taxa. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:1126–1137. © 2024 SETAC