Omics Technologies in Disinfection Byproduct Toxicology: Toward Mechanistic and Extrapolative Frameworks

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Disinfection byproducts (DBPs) are ubiquitous environmental contaminants formed during water treatment and are associated with diverse adverse effects on both human health and ecological systems. However, their toxicological assessment remains challenging due to structural diversity, complex mixtures, and predominantly nontargeted modes of action. Traditional toxicological frameworks relying on predefined end points are often insufficient to capture early and system-level biological perturbations induced by DBP exposure. Omics technologies have emerged as powerful tools for characterizing global molecular responses to chemical exposure, enabling the detection of conserved pathways, mechanistic signatures, and candidate biomarkers across the biological levels. This perspective reviews current applications of omics approaches in DBP toxicology and clarifies how omics data can be interpreted and integrated within the adverse outcome pathway (AOP) framework. Although omics data do not constitute AOPs per se, they provide critical empirical evidence for identifying and supporting molecular initiating events and key events. We further discuss the mechanistic and extrapolative value of omics data in supporting intra- and cross-species toxicity assessments when integrated with AOP-based frameworks. Despite this potential, such an integration remains limited for DBPs. Finally, key methodological and analytical challenges are highlighted, and future directions toward an omics-driven AOP paradigm for DBP toxicity assessment are proposed.