Comparative study on individual and combined effects of dimecron and ziram on carbohydrate metabolites in liver, muscle, heart, and blood of a freshwater teleost, Sarotherodon mossambicus (Peters)

The onset of active gill respiration in post-embryonic zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae triggers an increased sensitivity to neurotoxic compounds

Originally designed as a general alternative to acute fish toxicity testing (AFT), the fish embryo toxicity test (FET) has become subject to concerns with respect to neurotoxic substances. Whereas oxygen uptake in the fish embryo primarily occurs via diffusion across the skin, juvenile and adult fish rely on active ventilation of the gills. As a consequence, substances including, e.g., neurotoxicants which prevent appropriate ventilation of gills ("respiratory failure syndrome") might lead to suffocation in juvenile and adult fish, but not in skin-breathing embryos. To investigate if this respiratory failure syndrome might play a role for the higher sensitivity of juvenile and adult fish to neurotoxicants, a modified acute toxicity test using post-embryonic, early gill-breathing life-stages of zebrafish was developed with chlorpyrifos, permethrin, lindane, aldicarb, ziram and aniline as test substances. Additionally, a comparative study into bioaccumulation of lipophilic substances with log_Kow > 3.5 and swimbladder deflation as potential side effects of the respiratory failure syndrome was performed with 4 d old skin-breathing and 12 d old gill-breathing zebrafish. With respect to acute toxicity, post-embryonic 12 d larvae proved to be more sensitive than both embryos (FET) and adult zebrafish (AFT) to all test substances except for permethrin. Accumulation of chlorpyrifos, lindane and permethrin was 1.3- to 5-fold higher in 4 d old than in 12 d old zebrafish, suggesting that (intermediate) storage of substances in the yolk might reduce bioavailability and prevent metabolization, which could be a further reason for lower toxicity in 4 d than in 12 d old zebrafish. Whereas ziram and aniline showed no significant effect on the swimbladder, zebrafish exposed to chlorpyrifos, lindane and permethrin showed significantly deflated swimbladders in 12 d old larvae; in the case of aldicarb, there was a significant hyperinflation in 4 d old larvae. Swimbladder deflation in post-embryonic 12 d zebrafish larvae might be hypothesized as a reason for a lack of internal oxygen supplies during the respiratory failure syndrome, whereas in 4 d old embryos cholinergic hyperinflation of the swimbladder dominates over other effects. Regarding acute lethality, the study provides further evidence that the switch from transcutaneous to branchial respiration in post-embryonic zebrafish life-stages might be the reason for the higher sensitivity of juvenile and adult fish to neurotoxic substances.

Fish thyroidal and stress responses in contamination monitoring--an integrated biomarker approach

Xenobiotics may affect fish endocrine system, making endocrine responses relevant in pollution monitoring. Five critical sites in Ria de Aveiro (Portugal), having different contamination profiles, were assessed in comparison to a reference site (Torreira), focusing on Liza aurata stress (plasma cortisol, glucose and lactate) and thyroidal (plasma thyroid stimulating hormone-TSH, thyroxine-T4 and triiodothyronine-T3) responses. L. aurata at Vagos (PAHs contaminated) and Laranjo (mercury contaminated), respectively, displayed, low cortisol and high glucose as well as lactate levels. Considering thyroidal responses, high TSH levels were found at Laranjo; low T4 levels were found at Barra (subject to naval traffic) and low T3 levels were found at Rio Novo do Principe (near a former bleached kraft pulp mill effluent), Laranjo and Vagos. The integrated biomarker index ranked impacted sites as: Laranjo>Vagos>Gafanha>Rio Novo do Principe>Barra>Torreira. Endocrine responses reflected xenobiotics exposure suggesting environmental risk to fish at Ria de Aveiro. However no clear relation was found between stress and thyroidal responses.

Endocrine response of the freshwater teleost, Sarotherodon mossambicus (Peters) to dimecron exposure

The endocrine response in a freshwater teleost, Sarotherodon mossambicus (Peters) under dimecron (an organophosphate pesticide) toxicity was investigated by estimating the serum levels of T3 (triiodothyronine), T4 (thyroxine), cortisol, prolactin and insulin in control and sub-lethal (0.001 ml l(-1)) dimecron-exposed fish for 1, 6, 12, 24h and 5 days. In control S. mossambicus, the serum levels of T3 ranged from 0.80+/-0.01 to 0.82+/-0.01 ng ml(-1); T4 from 2.20+/-0.01 to 2.25+/-0.01 microg dl(-1); cortisol from 8.30+/-0.03 to 8.34+/-0.01 microg dl(-1); prolactin from 1.50+/-0.01 to 1.54+/-0.01 microg ml(-1); insulin from 9.70+/-0.01 to 9.76+/-0.01 microU ml(-1) up to a maximum period of 5 days maintained in pollutant-free tap water. Exposure of fish to sub-lethal concentration of dimecron caused varying changes in the levels of serum hormones studied. Based on the results obtained, it was concluded that (i) the fish adaptively maintains a probable low metabolic rate, as indicated by the reduced levels of thyroid hormone (T3) as well as the glucocorticoid hormone (cortisol), which could be considered advantageous for the fish to indirectly reduce the toxic impact of the pesticide, (ii) the elevated levels of prolactin in the fish under pesticide stress is indicative of a possible hydromineral regulatory effect of the hormone (probably by influencing specific organs such as gills and kidney) under pesticide toxicity, (iii) the increased insulin level in the fish under pesticide stress is indicative of its role in favouring an adaptive tissue glycogenesis besides a possible increased lipogenesis to sequester the pesticide residue thereby reducing the toxic effect of the pesticide and (iv) the prolonged exposure of the fish (for 5 days) to sub-lethal dimecron appeared to exhibit a uniform recovery response in the different hormonal levels of the fish.