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Ussery E, McMaster M, Palace V, Parrott J, Blandford NC, Frank R, Kidd K, Birceanu O, Wilson J, Alaee M, Cunningham J, Wynia A, Clark T, Campbell S, Timlick L, Michaleski S, Marshall S, Nielsen K. Effects of metformin on wild fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) using in-lake mesocosms in a boreal lake ecosystem. Sci Total Environ 2024; 929:172457. [PMID: 38649046 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2024] [Revised: 04/11/2024] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Due to its widespread use for the treatment of Type-2 diabetes, metformin is routinely detected in surface waters globally. Laboratory studies have shown that environmentally relevant concentrations of metformin can adversely affect the health of adult fish, with effects observed more frequently in males. However, the potential risk to wild fish populations has yet to be fully elucidated and remains a topic of debate. To explore whether environmentally relevant metformin exposure poses a risk to wild fish populations, the present study exposed wild fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) to 5 or 50 μg/L metformin via 2 m diameter in-lake mesocosms deployed in a natural boreal lake in Northern Ontario at the International Institute for Sustainable Development - Experimental Lakes Area (IISD-ELA). Environmental monitoring was performed at regular intervals for 8-weeks, with fish length, weight (body, liver and gonad), condition factor, gonadosomatic index, liver-somatic index, body composition (water and biomolecules) and hematocrit levels evaluated at test termination. Metabolic endpoints were also evaluated using liver, brain and muscle tissue, and gonads were evaluated histologically. Results indicate that current environmental exposure scenarios may be sufficient to adversely impact the health of wild fish populations. Adult male fish exposed to metformin had significantly reduced whole body weight and condition factor and several male fish from the high-dose metformin had oocytes in their testes. Metformin-exposed fish had altered moisture and lipid (decrease) content in their tissues. Further, brain (increase) and liver (decrease) glycogen were altered in fish exposed to high-dose metformin. To our knowledge, this study constitutes the first effort to understand metformin's effects on a wild small-bodied fish population under environmentally relevant field exposure conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erin Ussery
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Aquatic Contaminants Research Division, Burlington, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mark McMaster
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Aquatic Contaminants Research Division, Burlington, Ontario, Canada
| | - Vince Palace
- University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; International Institute for Sustainable Development-Experimental Lakes Area, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Joanne Parrott
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Aquatic Contaminants Research Division, Burlington, Ontario, Canada
| | - Nicholas C Blandford
- University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada; International Institute for Sustainable Development-Experimental Lakes Area, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Richard Frank
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Aquatic Contaminants Research Division, Burlington, Ontario, Canada
| | - Karen Kidd
- McMaster University, Department of Biology, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Oana Birceanu
- Western University, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Joanna Wilson
- McMaster University, Department of Biology, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mehran Alaee
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Aquatic Contaminants Research Division, Burlington, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jessie Cunningham
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Aquatic Contaminants Research Division, Burlington, Ontario, Canada
| | - Abby Wynia
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Aquatic Contaminants Research Division, Burlington, Ontario, Canada
| | - Thomas Clark
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Aquatic Contaminants Research Division, Burlington, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sheena Campbell
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Aquatic Contaminants Research Division, Burlington, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lauren Timlick
- International Institute for Sustainable Development-Experimental Lakes Area, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Sonya Michaleski
- International Institute for Sustainable Development-Experimental Lakes Area, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Stephanie Marshall
- Environment and Climate Change Canada, Aquatic Contaminants Research Division, Burlington, Ontario, Canada
| | - Kristin Nielsen
- University of Texas at Austin, Department of Marine Science, Port Aransas, TX, USA
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