Molecular mechanisms of selenium-Induced spinal deformities in fish

Selenium toxicity to oviparous vertebrates is often attributed to selenomethionine (SeMet), which can biomagnify through maternal transfer. Although oxidative stress is implicated in SeMet toxicity, knowledge gaps remain in how SeMet causes characteristic spinal deformities. In the present study, we use the Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) model to investigate the role of oxidative stress, cell death, and the unfolded protein response (UPR) on skeletal gene expression and SeMet toxicity, linking localization of cellular effects to observed abnormalities. Medaka embryos were treated with 2.5μM or 5μM SeMet for 24h at stage 25 (48h post fertilization). Post treatment, embryos were separated into normal, deformed (mild, moderate or severe), or dead categories. Dichlorofluorescein staining demonstrated oxidative stress in tails of embryos with observable spinal malformations. Furthermore, acridine orange staining for apoptosis identified significantly more dead cells in tails of treated embryos. Gene expression studies for the UPR suggest a potential role for CHOP (c/ebp homologous protein) induced apoptosis deformed embryos after 5μM SeMet, accompanied by a significant decrease in PDIA4 (protein disulfide isomerase A4) and no change in Dnajb9 (ER DNA J Domain-Containing Protein 4). This expression was distinct from the UPR induced by well-studied ER stress inducer, tunicamycin, which robustly activated CHOP, PDIA4 and Dnajb9. Finally, SeMet treatment significantly decreased transcripts of cartilage development, Sox9 (SRY box 9), while increasing Runx2 in deformed embryos, without altering Twist or Collagen 2a1. Results suggest that oxidative stress, the UPR and cell death play key roles in SeMet induced deformities and altered skeletal development factors.

Effects of dietary 2,2', 4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47) exposure in growing medaka fish (Oryzias latipes)

In this research work, we addressed the effects of a diet fortified with BDE-47 (0, 10, 100, 1000ng/g) dosed to 4-7 day-old post-hatch medaka fish for 40 days, followed by an 80-day depuration period. BDE-47 accumulation and overall growth were evaluated throughout the dosing period, and its elimination was quantified over the following 60 days. The histological condition of the thyroid gland, liver and gonads from the 1000ng BDE-47-treated fish were assessed 5 and 70days after exposures finished. The phenotypic males to females ratio was also quantified 70days after treatments finished. Sixty days after the BDE-47 exposures, reproductive capacity (i.e. fecundity, fertility and hatchability) was evaluated in mating groups for a 20-day period. BDE-47 exposure via food from larval through juvenile life stages of medaka fish resulted in steady accumulation with time dose-dependently. This accumulation tendency rapidly decreased after dosing ended. The growth rates showed a significant increase only at the highest concentration 70days after exposures finished. The histological survey did not reveal BDE-47-related alterations in the condition of the potential target organs. However, a morphometrical approach suggested BDE-47-related differences in the thickness of the epithelium that lines thyroid follicles. The reproduction studies showed comparable values for the fecundity, fertility and hatching rates. Dietary BDE-47 dosed for 40days to growing medaka fish did not alter the phenotypic sex ratios at maturity. The dietary approach used herein could not provide conclusive evidence of effects on medaka development and thriving despite the fact that BDE-47 underwent rapid accumulation in whole fish during the 40-day treatment.

Transcriptomic responses of marine medaka's ovary to hypoxia

Hypoxia, an endocrine disruptor, is pressing global problem affecting marine organisms in over 400 "Dead Zones" worldwide. There is growing evident demonstrated the disruptive effect of hypoxia on reproductive systems of marine fish through the impairments of steroidogenic gene expression, leading to the alteration of sex hormone production in gonads. But the detailed molecular mechanism underlying the responses of female reproductive systems to hypoxic stress remains largely unknown. In the present report, we used marine medaka Oryzias melastigma as a model, together with high-throughput transcriptome sequencing and bioinformatics analysis, aiming to determine the changes in transcriptional signature in the ovary of marine fish under hypoxic stress. Our result discovered over two hundred differential expressed genes in ovary in response to hypoxia. The bioinformatics analysis together with quantitative RT-PCR validation on the deregulated genes highlighted the dysregulations of a number of female reproductive functions including interruptions of ovarian follicle development, gonad development and steroid metabolic process. Additionally, we revealed that these deregulations are through the modulation of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). The result of this work complements previous studies and provides additional insights into the underlying molecular mechanism of hypoxia-induced impairment of female reproductive system.

Effect of oil sands process-affected water on toxicity of retene to early life-stages of Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes)

Toxicity of oil sands process-affected water (OSPW) to aquatic organisms has been studied, but effects of co-exposure to OSPW and polycyclic-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are an important class of chemicals in tailings ponds used to store OSPW, has not been investigated. The goal of the current study was to determine if organic compounds extracted from the aqueous phase of relatively fresh OSPW from Base-Mine Lake (BML-OSPW) or aged OSPW from Pond 9 experimental reclamation pond (P9-OSPW) modulated toxic potency of the model alkyl-PAH, retene, to early life-stages of Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). Embryos were exposed to retene by use of a partition controlled delivery (PCD) system made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) until day of hatch. Incidences of pericardial edema and expression of CYP1A were not significantly greater in larvae exposed only to dissolved organic compounds from either OSPW but were significantly greater in larvae exposed only to retene. Expression of CYP1A and incidences of pericardial edema were significantly greater in larvae co-exposed to retene and 5×equivalent of dissolved organic compounds from BML-OSPW compared to retene alone. However, there was no effect of co-exposure to retene and either a 1×equivalent of dissolved organic compounds from BML-OSPW or 5×equivalent of dissolved organic compounds from P9-OSPW. While there was evidence that exposure to 5×equivalent of dissolved organic compounds from BML-OSPW caused oxidative stress, there was no evidence of this effect in larvae exposed only to retene or co-exposed to retene and a 5×equivalent of dissolved organic compounds from BML-OSPW. These results suggest that oxidative stress is not a mechanism of pericardial edema in early-life stages of Japanese medaka. Relatively fresh OSPW from Base Mine Lake might influence toxicity of alkylated-PAHs to early life stages of fishes but this effect would not be expected to occur at current concentrations of OSPW and is attenuated by aging of OSPW.

Criteria for deviation from predictions by the concentration addition model

Loewe's additivity (concentration addition) is a well-known model for predicting the toxic effects of chemical mixtures under the additivity assumption of toxicity. However, from the perspective of chemical risk assessment and/or management, it is important to identify chemicals whose toxicities are additive when present concurrently, that is, it should be established whether there are chemical mixtures to which the concentration addition predictive model can be applied. The objective of the present study was to develop criteria for judging test results that deviated from the predictions by the concentration addition chemical mixture model. These criteria were based on the confidence interval of the concentration addition model's prediction and on estimation of errors of the predicted concentration-effect curves by toxicity tests after exposure to single chemicals. A log-logit model with 2 parameters was assumed for the concentration-effect curve of each individual chemical. These parameters were determined by the maximum-likelihood method, and the criteria were defined using the variances and the covariance of the parameters. In addition, the criteria were applied to a toxicity test of a binary mixture of p-n-nonylphenol and p-n-octylphenol using the Japanese killifish, medaka (Oryzias latipes). Consequently, the concentration addition model using confidence interval was capable of predicting the test results at any level, and no reason for rejecting the concentration addition was found. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:1806-1814. © 2015 SETAC.

Evolution and Distribution of Teleost myomiRNAs: Functionally Diversified myomiRs in Teleosts

Myosin heavy chain (MYH) genes belong to a multigene family, and the regulated expression of each member determines the physiological and contractile muscle properties. Among these, MYH6, MYH7, and MYH14 occupy unique positions in the mammalian MYH gene family because of their specific expression in slow/cardiac muscles and the existence of intronic micro(mi) RNAs. MYH6, MYH7, and MYH14 encode miR-208a, miR-208b, and miR-499, respectively. These MYH encoded miRNAs are designated as myomiRs because of their muscle-specific expression and functions. In mammals, myomiRs and host MYHs form a transcription network involved in muscle fiber-type specification; thus, genomic positions and expression patterns of them are well conserved. However, our previous studies revealed divergent distribution and expression of MYH14/miR-499 among teleosts, suggesting the unique evolution of myomiRs and host MYHs in teleosts. Here, we examined distribution and expression of myomiRs and host MYHs in various teleost species. The major cardiac MYH isoforms in teleosts are an intronless gene, atrial myosin heavy chain (amhc), and ventricular myosin heavy chain (vmhc) gene that encodes an intronic miRNA, miR-736. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that vmhc/miR-736 is a teleost-specific myomiR that differed from tetrapoda MYH6/MYH7/miR-208s. Teleost genomes also contain species-specific orthologs in addition to vmhc and amhc, indicating complex gene duplication and gene loss events during teleost evolution. In medaka and torafugu, miR-499 was highly expressed in slow/cardiac muscles whereas the expression of miR-736 was quite low and not muscle specific. These results suggest functional diversification of myomiRs in teleost with the diversification of host MYHs.

Developmental exposures to an azole fungicide triadimenol at environmentally relevant concentrations cause reproductive dysfunction in females of medaka fish

Triadimenol is an effective meatabolite derived from the triazole fungicide triadimenfon. It is an agriculturally important reagent of environmentally emerging concern because of its broad use, persistent occurrence in the environment and greater fungicidal or toxic potency than the parent compound. However, the ecotoxicological impact of triadimenol on fish populations remains unclear. In this study, we investigated developmental toxicity and endocrine disruption effects in medaka fish (Oryzias latipes) exposed at an early life stage to triadimenol. First, mortality, gross development and oxidative stress responses were assessed with triadimenol exposure (3-3000 μg/L) during the embryonic stage. Then, medaka at a sensitive stage of early sexual development underwent 35-day continuous chronic exposure to triadimenol, and the endocrine disruption effects were assessed in adulthood and the next generation. Embryonic exposure to triadimenol did not induce significant teratogenic effects or oxidative stress in embryos or hatchlings. However, early-life exposure to triadimenol under environmentally relevant concentrations (3-30 μg/L) and 300 μg/L persistently altered ovary development and reproduction in female adults and skewed the sex ratio in progeny. As well, triadimenol exposure interrupted the hormone balance, as seen by the expression of genes responsible for estrogen metabolism and egg reproduction. Environmentally relevant triadimenol exposure in medaka fish at early life stages may have ecotoxicological impact in aquatic environments. Along with previous studies, we suggest that conazoles share similar modes of action in disrupting hormone homeostasis and reproduction in fish and mammals.

Early Life Exposure to Ractopamine Causes Endocrine-Disrupting Effects in Japanese Medaka (Oryzias latipes)

β-Agonists, which are used as human pharmaceuticals or feed additives, have been detected in aquatic environments. β-Agonists have also been proposed for use in aquaculture. However, there are limited data available regarding the adverse effects of β-agonists in aquatic organisms. In this study, ractopamine was selected as the representative β-agonist, and medaka embryos were exposed at concentrations ranging from 5 to 625 μg/L for 44 days. In contrast to what has been found in mammals, ractopamine caused no growth response in medaka. However, the transcriptional changes of genes related to the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis, especially in females, suggested that β-agonists may have the potential to disrupt the endocrine system. Moreover, genes involved in anti-oxidative activity or detoxification were affected in a gender-specific manner. These findings, particularly the effects on the endocrine system of fish, will advance our understanding of the ecotoxicity of β-agonists.

TALENs-mediated gene disruption of myostatin produces a larger phenotype of medaka with an apparently compromised immune system

Although myostatin, a suppressor of skeletal muscle development and growth, has been well studied in mammals, its function in fish remains unclear. In this study, we used a popular genome editing tool with high efficiency and target specificity (TALENs; transcription activator-like effector nucleases) to mutate the genome sequence of myostatin (MSTN) in medaka (Oryzias latipes). After the TALEN pair targeting OlMyostatin was injected into fertilized medaka eggs, mutant G0 fish carrying different TALENs-induced frameshifts in the OlMSTN coding sequence were mated together in order to transmit the mutant sequences to the F1 generation. Two F1 mutants with frameshifted myostatin alleles were then mated to produce the F2 generation, and these F2 OlMSTN null (MSTN(-/-)) medaka were evaluated for growth performance. The F2 fish showed significantly increased body length and weight compared to the wild type fish at the juvenile and post-juvenile stages. At the post-juvenile stage, the average body weight of the MSTN(-/-) medaka was ∼25% greater than the wild type. However, we also found that when the F3 generation were challenged with red spotted grouper nervous necrosis virus (RGNNV), the expression levels of the interferon-stimulated genes were lower than in the wild type, and the virus copy number was maintained at a high level. We therefore conclude that although the MSTN(-/-) medaka had a larger phenotype, their immune system appeared to be at least partially suppressed or undeveloped.

Accumulation of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate causes endocrine-disruptive effects in marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma) embryos

Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is extensively distributed in marine environments. However, limited research on the toxicological and molecular effects of DEHP on marine organisms has been conducted. Our study investigated the accumulation, elimination, and endocrine-disruptive effects of DEHP on embryonic marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma). The medaka embryos were continuously exposed to DEHP (0.01, 0.1, and 1 mg/L) or 17β-estradiol (E2, 0.01 mg/L) until hatching, and the newly hatched larvae were then transferred to clean sea water for 12 days of depuration. DEHP and E2 appeared to have no significant effects on the mortality and hatching rates of medaka embryos, but E2 exposure significantly delayed the hatching. Significantly higher DEHP embryonic burdens were detected in the group treated with higher DEHP (0.1 and 1 mg/L) at 10 dpf (days post fertilization). The recovered larvae showed an elimination tendency of DEHP during the recovery period. DEHP had no significant effects on the transcriptional responses of endocrine-disrupting biomarker genes in the 3-dpf embryos. Treatment with 0.1 and 1 mg/L DEHP elicited a significant induction of transcriptional responses of ER, PPAR, and the CYP19 genes in a concentration-dependent manner at 10 dpf, indicating endocrine disruption may be due to bioaccumulation of DEHP. With the elimination of DEHP during the depuration period, all of the effects on these genes showed no significant effects. However, 0.1 mg/L E2 significantly affected the expression of ER, PPAR, and the CYP19 genes in the exposed embryos at both 3 and 10 dpf and recovered larvae. Therefore, these results demonstrate that accumulation of DEHP caused endocrine disruption in medaka embryos and that recovery in clean sea water may weaken the endocrine-disrupting effects.

Parental dietary seleno-L-methionine exposure and resultant offspring developmental toxicity

Selenium (Se) leaches into water from agricultural soils and from storage sites for coal fly ash. Se toxicity causes population and community level effects in fishes and birds. We used the laboratory aquarium model fish, Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes), an asynchronous breeder, to determine aspects of uptake in adults and resultant developmental toxicity in their offspring. The superior imaging properties of the model enabled detailed descriptions of phenotypic alterations not commonly reported in the existing Se literature. Adult males and females in treatment groups were exposed, separately and together, to a dry diet spiked with 0, 12.5, 25, or 50 μg/g (dry weight) seleno-L-methionine (SeMet) for 6 days, and their embryo progeny collected for 5 days, maintained under controlled conditions and observed daily for hatchability, mortality and/or developmental toxicity. Sites of alteration included: craniofacial, pericardium and abdomen (Pc/Ab), notochord, gall bladder, spleen, blood, and swim bladder. Next, adult tissue Se concentrations (liver, skeletal muscle, ovary and testis) were determined and compared in treatment groups of bred and unbred individuals. No significant difference was found across treatment groups at the various SeMet concentrations; and, subsequent analysis compared exposed vs. control in each of the treatment groups at 10 dpf. Increased embryo mortality was observed in all treatment groups, compared to controls, and embryos had a decreased hatching rate when both parents were exposed. Exposure resulted in significantly more total altered phenotypes than controls. When altered phenotypes following exposure of both parents were higher than maternal only exposure, a male role was suggested. The comparisons between treatment groups revealed that particular types of phenotypic change may be driven by the sex of the exposed parent. Additionally, breeding reduced Se concentrations in some adult tissues, specifically the liver of exposed females and skeletal muscle of exposed males. Detailed phenotypic analysis of progeny from SeMet exposed parents should inform investigations of later life stages in an effort to determine consequences of early life exposure.

Developmental patterns of copper bioaccumulation in a marine fish model Oryzias melastigma

Allometry is known to be an important factor influencing metal bioaccumulation in animals. However, it is not clear whether effects are due to body size per se or changes in physiological traits during the animals' development. We therefore investigated the biokinetics of copper (Cu) and predicted Cu bioaccumulation during the development of a fish model, the marine medaka. The results revealed that the waterborne Cu uptake rate constant decreased and dietary Cu assimilation efficiency increased during development from larvae to adults. Thus, the allometric dependency of the biokinetic parameters in juveniles and adults can not be simply extrapolated to the whole life cycle. The body Cu concentration in the fish was predicted by the biokinetic model, which showed a rapid increase in the larval stage, followed by a slight increase from juveniles to adults, and then a relatively stable plateau in the post-adult stage. Dietary Cu uptake became more important as fish developed from larvae to juveniles, but became less important from juveniles to adults. These findings suggested that the developmental patterns of metal bioaccumulation are driven by an integrated biological/physiological shift through animals' ontogeny rather than a simple allometric dependent change. The developmental changes of metal uptake should be considered in ecological bioassessment and biomonitoring programs.

Early life exposure to a rodent carcinogen propiconazole fungicide induces oxidative stress and hepatocarcinogenesis in medaka fish

Conazole pollution is an emerging concern to human health and environmental safety because of the broad use of conazole fungicides in agriculture and medicine and their frequent occurrence in aquifers. The agricultural pesticide propiconazole has received much regulatory interest because it is a known rodent carcinogen with evidence of multiple adverse effects in mammals and non-targeted organisms. However, the carcinogenic effect and associated mechanism of propiconazole in fish under microgram-per-liter levels of environmental-relevant exposure remains unclear. To explore whether early life of propiconzaole exposure would induce oxidative stress and latent carcinogenic effects in fish, we continuously exposed larvae of wild type or p53(-/-) mutant of medaka fish (Oryzias latipes) to propiconazole (2.5-250μg/L) for 3, 7, 14 or 28 days and assessed liver histopathology and/or the oxidative stress response and gene expression during exposure and throughout adulthood. Propiconazole dose-dependently induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, altered homeostasis of antioxidant superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione S-transferase and caused lipid and protein peroxidation during early life exposure in wild type medaka. Such exposure also significantly upregulated gene expression of the cytochrome P450 CYP1A, but marginally suppressed that of tumor suppressor p53 in adults. Furthermore, histopathology revealed that p53(-/-) mutant medaka with early life exposure to propiconazole showed increased incidence of hepatocarcionogensis, as compared to the p53(-/-) control group and wild type strain. We demonstrated that propiconazole can initiate ROS-mediated oxidative stress and induce hepatic tumorigenesis associated with CYP1A- and/or p53 -mediated pathways with the use of wild type and p53(-/-) mutant of medaka fish. The toxic response of medaka to propiconazole is compatible with that observed in rodents.

Glucocorticoid receptor exhibits sexually dimorphic expression in the medaka brain

The differential impact of stress on brain functions of males and females has been widely observed in vertebrates. Recent evidence suggests that stress-induced glucocorticoid signaling affects sexual differentiation and sex changes in teleost fish. These facts led us to postulate that there were sex differences in glucocorticoid signaling in the teleost brain that underlie some sex differences in their physiological and behavioral traits. Here we found sexually dimorphic expression of a glucocorticoid receptor gene (gr1) in the brain of medaka fish (Oryzias latipes), with females having greater expression in several preoptic and thalamic nuclei. Further, gr1 exhibits female-biased expression in neurons of the anterior parvocellular preoptic nucleus that produce the neuropeptides vasotocin and gonadotropin-releasing hormone 1 (these neuropeptides have been implicated in the regulation of neuroendocrine and behavioral functions). These findings suggest that glucocorticoids have a greater influence on physiology and behavior mediated by these neuropeptides in females than in males, which may contribute to sex differences in the brain's response to stress.

Ovarian structure protein 1: A sensitive molecular biomarker of gonadal intersex in female Japanese medaka after androgen exposure

Intersex in gonochoristic fish can be induced after exposure to androgens and estrogens. The main objective of the present study was to identify biomarkers that would be predictive of intersex in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) after exposure to synthetic hormones. First a gene was identified, ovarian structure protein 1 (osp1), with strong female-specific expression during gonadal differentiation. The authors hypothesized that osp1 expression would decrease to male levels in females after the exposure of larvae (15-25 d postfertilization [dpf]) to 17β-trenbolone (TRB; 5 ng/L) and would increase to female levels in males exposed to 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2; 5 ng/L) and that gonadal intersex would be induced later in life (60 dpf). Tissue distribution and cellular localization of OSP1 was investigated using Western blot and immunohistochemistry. The results indicate that this exposure regime delays testicular maturation in males and development of ovarian intersex in females. Although decreased osp1 expression in females exposed to TRB correlated to changes in ovarian phenotype, up-regulation of osp1 was not observed in males exposed to EE2. In addition, OSP1 was only observed in ovaries and localized in the cytoplasm and follicular layer of immature and mature oocytes. The authors conclude that osp1 is a promising biomarker of androgen exposure and gonadal intersex in female medaka.

Developmental exposures to waterborne abused drugs alter physiological function and larval locomotion in early life stages of medaka fish

Environmental pollution by neuroactive pharmaceuticals from wastewater discharge is a major threat to aquatic ecosystems. However, the ecotoxicologic effect of waterborne abused drugs remains unclear. Embryos of medaka fish (Oryzias latipes) were exposed to aqueous solutions of 2 hallucinogenic drugs, ketamine (KET) and methamphetamine (MET) (0.004-40μM) to assess developmental toxicity, oxidative stress and behavioral alteration in early life stages. The environmentally relevant concentration (0.004μM) of both KET and MET significantly delayed blood circulation and hatching time in embryos and altered larval swimming behavior (e.g., maximum velocity and relative turn angle). KET and MET induced similar oxidative stress responses in embryos, which were unrecoverable in hatchlings in drug-free solutions. Early life exposure to the 2 drugs conferred distinct patterns in larval locomotion: KET induced hyperactivity and a less tortuous swimming path, but MET-treated larvae showed hypoactivity and a clockwise swimming direction at high doses. The alteration in locomotor responses were generally similar in mammals and zebrafish. We report sensitive biomarkers (e.g., heartbeat, hatching and swimming behavior) by developmental stage of medaka that reflect environmentally relevant exposures of abused drugs. They could be useful for ecological risk assessment of waterborne neuroactive drugs. The toxicity results implicate a potential ecotoxicological impact of controlled or abused drugs on fish development and populations in aquatic environments.

Benzo(a)pyrene-induced cytochrome p4501A expression of four freshwater fishes (Oryzias latipes, Danio rerio, Cyprinus carpio, and Zacco platypus)

Oryzias latipes, Danio rerio, Cyprinus carpio, and Zacco platypus are useful indicator species for CYP1A biomarker studies; however, comparative studies have not been performed. To compare susceptibility, dose- and time-dependent CYP1A induction at the mRNA and protein levels in response to benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) exposure was analyzed. At the mRNA level, a statistically significant difference was found among the four species; however, such was not observed at the protein level. C. carpio showed the highest CYP1A induction level and the steepest slope in the dose-response curve. To assess susceptibility, the difference in CYP1A mRNA induction among species must be considered, and C. carpio was the most sensitive species of the four evaluated in terms of CYP1A expression.

Steroid responsive regulation of IFNγ2 alternative splicing and its possible role in germ cell proliferation in medaka

Interferon gamma (IFNγ) is an active player in estrogen dependent immuno-regulation of fish. The present work was aimed to characterize the alternatively spliced isoforms of IFNγ2 in the gonadal sex development in medaka. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that IFNγ2a and 2b were clustered with fish specific interferon gamma. Our in vitro promoter and mini-genome analysis data confirmed that alternative splicing of IFNγ2 is regulated by estrogens and androgens. Tissue distribution, quantitative PCR and ISH data demonstrated ubiquitous expression of IFNγ2a, while IFNγ2b was only expressed predominantly in female germ cells than males. This was further confirmed by germ cell specific GFP signals in the IFNγ2b-GFP over-expressed embryos and specific induction of IFNγ2b expression in the BrdU positive cells. All together our data suggest that steroid responsive alternatively spliced IFNγ2b isoforms might have some indirect roles in germ cell proliferation and thus can be an important candidate for immuno-reproductive interaction studies.

Toxicity of the veterinary sulfonamide antibiotic sulfamonomethoxine to five aquatic organisms

The purpose of this study was to investigate the acute and chronic toxicity of sulfamonomethoxine (SMM) to aquatic organisms to evaluate its impact at different trophic levels in the ecosystem. Regarding the growth inhibition of microalgae, SMM exhibited 72-h median effective concentration (EC50) values of 5.9mgL(-1) for freshwater Chlorella vulgaris and 9.7mgL(-1) for marine Isochrysis galbana. In a study on the cladocerans, SMM exhibited acute toxicity and 48-h median lethal concentrations of 48mgL(-1) for Daphnia magna and 283mgL(-1) for D. similis. An examination of chronic toxicity revealed that SMM inhibited the brook production of the cladocerans and exhibited 21-day EC50 values of 14.9mgL(-1) for D. magna and 41.9mgL(-1) for D. similis. This study investigated the potentially adverse effects of SMM on aquatic organisms and revealed that microalgae exhibited higher sensitivity to SMM than cladocerans did. The residue of SMM in water is recommended to be carefully evaluated to reduce ecological impacts after applied to cultured animals.

Effect of glyphosate-based herbicide on early life stages of Java medaka (Oryzias javanicus): a potential tropical test fish

Glyphosate is globally a widely used herbicide, yet there is little information on their toxicity to marine fishes. Java medaka, a small tropical fish native to coastal areas in several Southeast Asian countries, is viewed as a suitable candidate for toxicity test and thus was used for this study. Java medaka adults were cultured in the laboratory and the fertilized eggs of the F2 generation were exposed to different concentrations of glyphosate-based herbicide (100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 ppm) until they hatched. The survival and hatching rates of the embryos, changes in the heart rate and morphological impairments were recorded. Generally, survival and hatching percentage decreased as glyphosate concentration increased. Absence of pectoral fin(s) and cornea, permanently bent tail, irregular shaped abdomen, and cell disruption in the fin, head and abdomen are among the common teratogenic effects observed. Furthermore, risk factor also increased with the increased in glyphosate concentrations.

Toxic effects of bisphenol A on early life stages of Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes)

The toxic effects of bisphenol A (BPA) in aquatic organisms have attracted global attention. However, few studies have investigated its effects at the gene transcription level. In this study, we measured the transcriptional response of a set of genes associated with the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis following BPA exposure during the early life stage of Japanese medaka. Transcription of vitellogenin genes was induced in both sexes, indicating estrogenic disruption. However, changes in transcription of the steroid hormone receptor gene and steroidogenesis-regulating genes suggest that BPA also acts as an androgen receptor antagonist. BPA exposure also decreased the hatchability of medaka embryos and increased the growth of female larvae. These pronounced gender-specific effects observed in this study demonstrate that it is important to identify the sex of fish in the early life stage.

Loss of follicle-stimulating hormone receptor function causes masculinization and suppression of ovarian development in genetically female medaka

FSH, a glycoprotein hormone, is circulated from the pituitary and functions by binding to a specific FSH receptor (FSHR). FSHR is a G protein-coupled, seven-transmembrane receptor linked to the adenylyl cyclase or other pathways and is expressed in gonadal somatic cells. In some nonmammalian species, fshr expression is much higher in the ovary than in the testis during gonadal sex differentiation, suggesting that FSHR is involved in ovarian development in nonmammalian vertebrates. However, little is known of FSHR knockout phenotypes in these species. Here we screened for fshr mutations by a medaka (Oryzias latipes) target-induced local lesion in the genomes and identified one nonsense mutation located in the BXXBB motif, which is involved in G protein activation. Next, we used an in vitro reporter gene assay to demonstrate that this mutation prevents FSHR function. We then analyzed the phenotypes of fshr mutant medaka. The fshr mutant male medaka displayed normal testes and were fertile, whereas the mutant female fish displayed small ovaries and were infertile because vitellogenesis was inhibited. The mutant females also have suppressed expression of ovary-type aromatase (cyp19a1a), a steroidogenic enzyme responsible for the conversion of androgens to estrogens, resulting in decreased 17β-estradiol levels. Moreover, loss of FSHR function caused female-to-male sex reversal in some cases. In addition, the transgenic overexpression of fshr in fshr mutants rescued FSHR function. These findings strongly suggest that in the medaka, FSH regulates the ovarian development and the maintenance mainly by the elevation of estrogen levels. We present the first FSHR knockout phenotype in a nonmammalian species.

Effects of trilostane and fipronil on the reproductive axis in an early life stage of the Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes)

Given the critical role of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis, it is conceivable that perturbations at any point along this axis can potentially affect reproduction in fish and other vertebrates. We investigated the effects of a 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD) inhibitor, trilostane (TRI), and a gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-receptor antagonist, fipronil (FIP), on the HPG axis using an early life stage of the Japanese medaka. The newly hatched larvae were exposed to TRI (100, 300 and 1000 μg/L) and FIP (3, 10 and 30 μg/L), respectively, until 28 days post-hatching. Exposure to TRI decreased the body length in males, whereas FIP inhibited growth in both sexes. The induction of steroidogenesis-regulating genes (including 3β-hsd) in males exposed to TRI, accompanied by increased vtg and er transcription, indicating a compensatory response to the presumed 3β-HSD inhibition. These compensatory responses were not observed in TRI-treated females. Regarding FIP exposure, the GABA blocker resulted in the down-regulation of fshr and lhr. A compensatory up-regulation of steroidogenesis-regulating genes partially explained the elevated transcripts of vtg genes in both males and females after FIP exposure. These results suggest that both the inhibition of 3β-HSD and the antagonism of GABA receptors are relevant modes of endocrine disruption that could impact the normal regulation of the HPG axis.

Persistent endocrine disruption effects in medaka fish with early life-stage exposure to a triazole-containing aromatase inhibitor (letrozole)

Letrozole (LET) is a triazole-containing drug that can inhibit the activity of cytochrome P450 aromatase. It is an environmentally emerging pollutant because of its broad use in medicine and frequent occurrence in aquifers receiving the effluent of municipal or hospital wastewater. However, the toxic impact of LET on fish populations remains unclear. We exposed medaka fish (Oryzias latipes) at an early stage of sexual development to a continuous chronic LET at environmentally relevant concentrations and assessed the endocrine disruption effects in adulthood and the next generation. LET exposure at an early life stage persistently altered phenotypic sex development and reproduction in adults and skewed the sex ratio in progeny. As well, LET exposure led to a gender-different endocrine disruption as seen by the interruption in gene expression responsible for estrogen synthesis and metabolism and fish reproduction. LET interfering with the aromatase system in early life stages of medaka can disrupt hormone homeostasis and reproduction. This potent aromatase inhibitor has potential ecotoxicological impact on fish populations in aquatic environments.