Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Effects of Ethinylestradiol on Medaka (Oryzias latipes) as Measured by Sperm Motility and Fertilization Success

  • Published:
Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We investigated the effects of 30–480 ng/L 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) on the sperm motility and fertility of Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). Sperm motility was examined by computer-assisted image analysis. In male medaka, the velocity of sperm was found to have increased after 3 weeks of exposure at 60–480 ng/L. This result suggests that higher sperm velocities depleted sperm energy reserves more rapidly and shortened the time for which sperm were viable to fertilize eggs. In a separate experiment that studied whether EE2 exposure of males affects the fertilization rate or hatchability, sexually mature male medaka were exposed for 3 weeks and subsequently evaluated for their reproductive ability after pairing with unexposed females for 7 days. Exposure of males to EE2 exerted a potent inhibitory effect on a reproduction parameter (fertilization rate × hatchability), and the highest inhibition was observed at 60 ng/L. The results offer toxicological data for the assessment of EE2 exposure in medaka and suggest that short-term exposure to EE2 might reduce sperm function and fertility in adult male medaka.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Balch GC, Mackenzie CA, Metcalfe CD (2004) Alterations to gonadal development and reproductive success in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) exposed to 17-α-ethinylestradiol. Environ Toxicol Chem 23:782–791

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burness G, Moyes CD, Montgomerie R (2005) Motility, ATP levels and metabolic enzyme activity of sperm from bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus). Comp Biochem Physiol A 140:11–17

    Google Scholar 

  • Calabrese EJ (2001) Estrogen and related compounds: biphasic dose responses. Crit Rev Toxicol 31:503–515

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cho SM, Kurihara R, Strüssmann CA et al (2003) Histological abnormalities in the gonads of Konoshiro gizzard shad (Konosirus punctatus) from coastal areas of Japan. Environ Sci 10:25–36

    Google Scholar 

  • Foran CM, Petersen BN, Benson WH (2002) Transgenerational and developmental exposure of Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) to ethinylestradiol results in endocrine and reproductive differences in the response to ethinylestradiol as adults. Toxicol Sci 68:389–402

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fujiwara Y, Fukuda H, Shimizu M, Hara A (2005) Purification of two lipovitellins and development of immunoassays for two forms of their precursors (vitellogenins) in medaka (Oryzias latipes). Gen Comp Endocrinol 143:267–277

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gronen S, Denslow N, Manning S, Barnes S, Barnes D, Brouwer M (1999) Serum vitellogenin levels and reproductive impairment of male Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) exposed to 4-tert-octylphenol. Environ Health Perspect 107:385–390

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hara Y, Strüssmann CA, Hashimoto S (2007) Assessment of short-term exposure to nonylphenol in Japanese medaka using sperm velocity and frequency of motile sperm. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 53:406–410

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hashimoto S, Akatsuka Y, Kurihara R et al (2005) Evaluation of the Ishikawa cell line bioassay for the detection of estrogenic substances from sediment extracts. Environ Toxicol Chem 24:1587–1593

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hashimoto S, Bessho H, Hara A, Nakamura M, Iguchi T, Fujita K (2000) Elevated serum vitellogenin levels and gonadal abnormalities in wild male flounder (Pleuronectes yokohamae) from Tokyo Bay, Japan. Marine Environ Res 49:37–53

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Iwamatsu T (1997) The integrated book of the biology of the medaka. Daigakukyôikushuppan, Okayama, Japan (in Japanese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Iwamatsu T (2000) Fertilization in fishes. In: Tarín JJ, Cano A (eds) Fertilization in protozoa and metazoan animals: cellular and molecular aspects. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, Heidelberg pp 89–146

    Google Scholar 

  • Iwamatsu T, Ohta T (1981) Scanning electron microscopic observations on sperm penetration in teleostean fish. J Exp Zool 218:261–277

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kawana R, Strüssmann CA, Hashimoto S (2003) Effect of p-nonylphenol on sperm motility in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). Fish Physiol Biochem 28:213–214

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kime DE (1995) The effects of pollution on reproduction in fish. Rev Fish Biol Fish 5:52–96

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kime DE (1999) A strategy for assessing the effects of xenobiotics on fish reproduction. Sci Total Environ 225:3–11

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kime DE, Van Look KJW, McAllister BG, Huyskens G, Rurangwa E, Ollevier F (2001) Computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) as a tool for monitoring sperm quality in fish. Comp Biochem Physiol C: Comp Pharmacol Toxicol 130:425–433

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Länge R, Hutchinson TH, Croudace CP et al (2001) Effects of the synthetic estrogen 17α-ethinylestradiol on the life-cycle of the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas). Environ Toxicol Chem 20:1216–1227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larsson DGJ, Adolfsson-Erici M, Parkkonen J, Berg AH, Olsson P-E, Forlin L (1999) Ethinyloestradiol: an undesired fish contraceptive? Aquat Toxicol 45:91–97

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Legler J, Zeinstra LM, Schuitemaker F et al (2002) Comparison of in vivo and in vitro reporter gene assays for short-term screening of estrogenic activity. Environ Sci Technol 36:4410–4415

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ma T, Wan X, Huang Q, Wang Z, Liu J (2005) Biomarker responses and reproductive toxicity of the effluent from a Chinese large sewage treatment plant in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). Chemosphere 59:281–288

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McAllister BG, Kime DE (2003) Early life exposure to environmental levels of the aromatase inhibitor tributyltin causes masculinisation and irreversible sperm damage in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Aquat Toxicol 65:309–316

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McLachlan JA (2001) Environmental signaling: what embryos and evolution teach us about endocrine disrupting chemicals. Endocr Rev 22:319–341

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Metcalfe CD, Metcalfe TL, Kiparissis Y et al (2001) Estrogenic potency of chemicals detected in sewage treatment plant effluents as determined by in vivo assays with Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). Environ Toxicol Chem 20:297–308

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nash JP, Kime DE, Van der Ven LTM et al (2004) Long-term exposure to environmental concentrations of the pharmaceutical ethynylestradiol causes reproductive failure in fish. Environ Health Perspect 112:1725–1733

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Papoulias DM, Noltie DB, Tillitt DE (1999) An in vivo model fish system to test chemical effects on sexual differentiation and development: exposure to ethinylestradiol. Aquat Toxicol 48:37–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parrott JL, Wood CS, Boutot P, Dunn S (2004) Changes in growth, secondary sex characteristics, and reproduction of fathead minnows exposed for a life cycle to bleached sulfite mill effluent. J Toxicol Environ Health 67:1755–1764

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rurangwa E, Roelants I, Huyskens G, Ebrahimi M, Kime DE, Ollevier F (1998) The minimum effective sperm:egg ratio for artificial insemination and the effects of mercury on sperm motility and fertilization ability in Clarias gariepinus. J Fish Biol 53:402–413

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Scholz S, Gutzeit HO (2000) 17-α-Ethinylestradiol affects reproduction, sexual differentiation and aromatase gene expression of the medaka (Oryzias latipes). Aquat Toxicol 50:363–373

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schultz IR, Skillman A, Nicolas JM, Cyr DG, Nagler JJ (2003) Short-term exposure to 17α-ethynylestradiol decreases the fertility of sexually maturing male rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Environ Toxicol Chem 22:1272–1280

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Seki M, Yokota H, Matsubara H et al (2002) Effect of ethinylestradiol on the reproduction and induction of vitellogenin and testis-ova in medaka (Oryzias latipes). Environ Toxicol Chem 21:1692–1698

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Seki M, Yokota H, Matsubara H et al (2003) Fish full life-cycle testing for the weak estrogen 4-tert-pentylphenol on medaka (Oryzias latipes). Environ Toxicol Chem 22:1487–1496

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shimizu M, Fukada H, Fujita T, Hiramatsu N, Hara A (2000) Serum levels of precursors to vitelline envelope proteins (choriogenins) in Sakhalin taimen after treatment with oestrogen and during oocyte growth. J Fish Biol 57:170–181

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ternes TA, Stumpf M, Mueller J, Haberer K, Wiken R-D, Servos M (1999) Behavior and occurrence of estrogens in municipal sewage treatment plants. I. Investigations in Germany, Canada, and Brazil. Sci Total Environ 225:81–90

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thorpe KL, Cummings RI, Hutchinson TH et al (2003) Relative potencies and combination effects of steroidal estrogens in fish. Environ Sci Technol 37:1142–1149

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thorpe KL, Hutchinson TH, Hetheridge MJ, Scholze M, Sumpter JP, Tyler CR (2001) Assessing the biological potency of binary mixtures of environmental estrogens using vitellogenin induction in juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Environ Sci Technol 35:2476–2481

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tilton SC, Foran CM, Benson WH (2005) Relationship between ethinylestradiol-mediated changes in endocrine function and reproductive impairment in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes). Environ Toxicol Chem 24:352–359

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tyler CR, Spary C, Gibson R, Santos EM, Shears J, Hill EM (2005) Accounting for differences in estrogenic responses in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss: Salmonidae) and roach (Rutilus rutilus: Cyprinidae) exposed to effluents from wastewater treatment works. Environ Sci Technol 39:2599–2607

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vos JG, Dybing E, Greim HA et al (2000) Health effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on wildlife, with special reference to the European situation. Crit Rev Toxicol 30:71–133

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yamamoto T (1975) Introductory remarks on the Medaka. In: Yamamoto T (ed) Medaka (killifish): biology and strains. Keigaku Publishing, Tokyo, pp 1–16

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. T. Iwamatsu for helpful discussions. This study was supported in part by a grant for a Long-Range Research Initiative (LRI) by the Japan Chemical Industry Association (JCIA) and a grant from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (No. 15201003).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Shizuoka, 52-1 Yada, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka, 422-8526, Japan

    Shinya Hashimoto, Emi Watanabe, Masahiko Ikeda & Yoshiyasu Terao

  2. Department of Marine Biosciences, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, 4-5-7 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-0075, Japan

    Carlos Augusto Strüssmann

  3. Division of Marine Biosciences, Graduate School of Fisheries, Hokkaido University, 3-1-1 Minato, Hakodate, Hokkaido, 041-8611, Japan

    Mihoka Inoue & Akihiko Hara

Authors
  1. Shinya Hashimoto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Emi Watanabe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Masahiko Ikeda
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Yoshiyasu Terao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Carlos Augusto Strüssmann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Mihoka Inoue
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Akihiko Hara
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shinya Hashimoto.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hashimoto, S., Watanabe, E., Ikeda, M. et al. Effects of Ethinylestradiol on Medaka (Oryzias latipes) as Measured by Sperm Motility and Fertilization Success . Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 56, 253–259 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-008-9183-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-008-9183-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation