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Comparative responses in rare minnow exposed to 17β-estradiol during different life stages

Fish Physiology and Biochemistry volume 35, pages 341–349 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Present in the excrement of humans and animals, 17β-estradiol (E2) has been detected in the aquatic environment in a range from several nanograms to several hundred nanograms per liter. In this study, the sensitivities of rare minnows during different life stages to E2 at environmentally relevant (5, 25, and 100 ng l−1) and high (1000 ng l−1) concentrations were compared using vitellogenin (VTG) and gonad development as biomarkers under semistatic conditions. After 21 days of exposure, VTG concentrations in whole-body homogenates were analyzed; the results indicated that the lowest observed effective concentration for VTG induction was 25 ng l−1 E2 in the adult stage, but 100 ng l−1 E2 in the larval and juvenile stages. After exposure in the early life stage, the larval and juvenile fish were transferred to clean water until gonad maturation. No significant difference in VTG induction was found between the exposure and control groups in the adults. However, a markedly increased proportion of females and appearance of hermaphrodism were observed in the juvenile-stage group exposed to 25 ng l−1 E2. These results showed that VTG induction in the adult stage is more sensitive than in larval and juvenile stages following exposure to E2. The juvenile stage may be the critical period of gonad development. Sex ratio could be a sensitive biomarker indicating exposure to xenoestrogens in early-life-stage subchronic exposure tests. The results of this study provide useful information for selecting sensitive biomarkers properly in aquatic toxicology testing.

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Abbreviations

dph:

Days post hatch

LOEC:

Lowest observed effect concentration

E1 :

Estrone

VTG:

Vitellogenin

E2 :

17β-Estradiol

WBH:

Whole-body homogenates

EDCs:

Endocrine disrupter chemicals

ELISA:

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

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Acknowledgements

The authors express sincere thanks for the financial support from Hi-Tech Research and Development Program of China (2006AA06Z424) and National Basic Research Program of China (2003CB415005) for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 7# Donghu Lake South Road, Wuhan, 430072, People′s Republic of China

    T. Liao, Q. L. Guo & Y. Xu

  2. Hubei Innovation Center of Agricultural Science and Technology, Institute for Farm Products Processing and Nuclear-Agricultural Technology, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, 430064, People′s Republic of China

    T. Liao & W. Cheng

  3. Key Laboratory for Green Chemical Process of Ministry of Education, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan, 430073, People′s Republic of China

    S. W. Jin

Authors
  1. T. Liao
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  2. Q. L. Guo
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  3. S. W. Jin
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  4. W. Cheng
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  5. Y. Xu
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Correspondence to Y. Xu.

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Liao, T., Guo, Q.L., Jin, S.W. et al. Comparative responses in rare minnow exposed to 17β-estradiol during different life stages. Fish Physiol Biochem 35, 341–349 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-008-9247-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-008-9247-9

Keywords

  • Biomarker
  • Estradiol
  • Hermaphrodism
  • Sex ratio
  • Vitellogenin

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