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Mixture toxicity of pyraclostrobine and metiram to the zebrafish (Danio rerio) and its potential mechanism

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Abstract

The interplay between pesticides plays a critical role in ecotoxicology since these chemicals rarely emerge as single substances but rather in mixtures with other chemicals. In the present work, we purposed to clarify the combined toxic impacts of pyraclostrobine (PYR) and metiram (MET) on the zebrafish by using numerous indicators. Results exhibited that the 4-day LC50 value of MET to fish embryos was 0.0025 mg a.i. L−1, which was lower compared with PYR (0.019 mg a.i. L−1). Combinations of PYR and MET presented a synergetic impact on fish embryos. Contents of POD, CYP450, and VTG were drastically increased in the plurality of the single and joint treatments relative to the baseline value. Three genes, including vtg1, crh, and il-8, related to the endocrine and immune systems, were also surprisingly up-regulated when fish were challenged by the individual and mixture pesticides compared with the baseline value. These results afforded valuable information on the latent toxicity mechanisms of co-exposure for PYR and MET in the early growth stage of fish. Moreover, our data also revealed that frequent application of these two pesticides might exert a potentially ecotoxicological hazard on aquatic ecosystems. Collectively, the present study provided valuable guidance for the risk evaluation of chemical combinations.

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Data availability

The datasets used or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Funding

The research was supported by the Scientific and Technological Innovation Project of Yantai City, China (Grant No. 2020MSGY053) and State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-products (Grant No. 2021DG700024-KF202106).

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Yanhua Wang: conceptualization, methodology, validation, formal analysis, investigation, data curation, writing-original draft, writing—review and editing. Zhongwen Gao: conceptualization, methodology, software, formal analysis, investigation, resources, data curation. Chuande Liu: investigation, data curation. Liangang Mao: investigation, data curation, writing—review and editing. Xinju Liu: writing—review and editing, administration, funding acquisition. Jindong Ren: investigation, resources. Zeqi Lu: conceptualization, methodology. Jie Yao: methodology, software, formal analysis. Xuan Liu: writing—review and editing, supervision, project administration, funding acquisition, corresponding author.

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Correspondence to Xuan Liu.

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Wang, Y., Gao, Z., Liu, C. et al. Mixture toxicity of pyraclostrobine and metiram to the zebrafish (Danio rerio) and its potential mechanism. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 44400–44414 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-25518-3

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