PUBLICATION

A high throughput passive dosing format for the Fish Embryo Acute Toxicity test

Authors
Vergauwen, L., Schmidt, S.N., Stinckens, E., Maho, W., Blust, R., Mayer, P., Covaci, A., Knapen, D.
ID
ZDB-PUB-150601-4
Date
2015
Source
Chemosphere   139: 9-17 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Blust, Ronny, Knapen, Dries, Vergauwen, Lucia
Keywords
Acute toxicity, Critical body residue, Fish early life stages, Phenanthrene, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, Zebrafish embryo
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian/drug effects*
  • Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
  • Lethal Dose 50
  • Phenanthrenes/chemistry
  • Phenanthrenes/toxicity
  • Swimming
  • Toxicity Tests, Acute/instrumentation*
  • Toxicity Tests, Acute/methods
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical/chemistry
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical/toxicity*
  • Zebrafish/embryology*
PubMed
26026258 Full text @ Chemosphere
Abstract
High throughput testing according to the Fish Embryo Acute Toxicity (FET) test (OECD Testing Guideline 236) is usually conducted in well plates. In the case of hydrophobic test substances, sorptive and evaporative losses often result in declining and poorly controlled exposure conditions. Therefore, our objective was to improve exposure conditions in FET tests by evaluating a passive dosing format using silicone O-rings in standard 24-well polystyrene plates. We exposed zebrafish embryos to a series of phenanthrene concentrations until 120h post fertilization (hpf), and obtained a linear dilution series. We report effect values for both mortality and sublethal morphological effects based on (1) measured exposure concentrations, (2) (lipid normalized) body residues and (3) chemical activity. The LC50 for 120hpf was 310μg/L, CBR50 (critical body residue) was 2.72mmol/kg fresh wt and La50 (lethal chemical activity) was 0.047. All values were within ranges expected for baseline toxicity. Impaired swim bladder inflation was the most pronounced morphological effect and swimming activity was reduced in all exposure concentrations. Further analysis showed that the effect on swimming activity was not attributed to impaired swim bladder inflation, but rather to baseline toxicity. We conclude that silicone O-rings (1) produce a linear dilution series of phenanthrene in the 120hpf FET test, (2) generate and maintain aqueous concentrations for reliable determination of effect concentrations, and allow for obtaining mechanistic toxicity information, and (3) cause no toxicity, demonstrating its potential as an extension of the FET test when testing hydrophobic chemicals.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping