PUBLICATION

Reproductive and endocrine-disrupting toxicity of Microcystis aeruginosa in female zebrafish

Authors
Liu, G., Ke, M., Fan, X., Zhang, M., Zhu, Y., Lu, T., Sun, L., Qian, H.
ID
ZDB-PUB-171108-1
Date
2017
Source
Chemosphere   192: 289-296 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Keywords
Endocrine-disruption, Microcystis aeruginosa, Reproductive toxicity, Zebrafish
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Bacterial Toxins/pharmacology
  • Endocrine Disruptors/pharmacology
  • Endocrine System/drug effects*
  • Estradiol/analysis
  • Estradiol/metabolism
  • Female
  • Gonads/drug effects
  • Gonads/metabolism
  • Gonads/pathology
  • Liver/drug effects
  • Liver/metabolism
  • Liver/pathology
  • Microcystins/isolation & purification
  • Microcystins/toxicity*
  • Microcystis/metabolism
  • Microcystis/pathogenicity*
  • Reproduction/drug effects*
  • Testosterone/analysis
  • Testosterone/blood
  • Vitellogenins/blood
  • Vitellogenins/metabolism
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical/toxicity
  • Zebrafish/metabolism
  • Zebrafish/microbiology*
  • Zebrafish/physiology
  • Zebrafish Proteins/analysis
  • Zebrafish Proteins/drug effects
  • Zebrafish Proteins/genetics
PubMed
29112878 Full text @ Chemosphere
Abstract
Microcystis aeruginosa, a primary species in cyanobacterial blooms, is ubiquitously distributed in water. Microcystins (MCs) purified from M. aeruginosa can exert reproductive toxicity in fish. However, the effects of M. aeruginosa at environmentally relevant levels on the reproductive and endocrine systems of zebrafish are still unknown. The present study investigated the reproductive and endocrine-disrupting toxicity of M. aeruginosa on female zebrafish (Danio rerio) by short-term exposure (96 h). After exposure, marked histological lesions in the liver or gonads, such as nuclear pyknosis and deformation, were observed, and the fertilization rate and hatchability of eggs spawned from treated females were both significantly lower than they were in females in the control group, suggesting the possibility of transgenerational effects of M. aeruginosa exposure. Moreover, M. aeruginosa exposure decreased the concentration of 17β-estradiol (E2) and testosterone (T) in female zebrafish. Interestingly, the vtg1 transcriptional level significantly decreased in the liver, whereas plasma vitellogenin (VTG) protein levels increased. The present findings indicate that M. aeruginosa could modulate endocrine function by disrupting transcription of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal-liver (HPGL) axis-related genes, and impair the reproductive capacity of female zebrafish, suggesting that M. aeruginosa causes potential adverse effects on fish reproduction in Microcystis bloom-contaminated aquatic environments.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping