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A mixture of pesticides at environmental concentrations induces oxidative stress and cholinergic effects in the neotropical fish Rhamdia quelen

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Abstract

The insecticides imidacloprid (IMI), a neonicotinoid, and propoxur (PRO), an N-methylcarbamate compound, are pesticides widely used throughout the world. Although they are not used together to combat pests, both are often found in freshwater near agricultural areas. Thereby, the goal of this study was to evaluate the additive effects of IMI and PRO mixtures at environmental concentrations in relation to isolated compounds on Rhamdia quelen, a neotropical fish. The fish was exposed to IMI (0.11 µg/L), PRO (0.039 µg/L), or Mix (0.11 µg/L IMI plus 0.039 µg/L PRO) during 96 h. Glutathione S-transferase (GST), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities were determined. To verify oxidative damage thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), protein carbonyl (PC), reactive oxygen species contents (ROS), antioxidant capacity against peroxides (ACAP) were determined in gills, liver, brain and muscle. The results shows that a mixture of these pesticides at environmental concentrations inhibited acetylcholinesterase activity in the brain and induced oxidative damage in all analyzed tissues. These results reinforce the hypothesis that mixture of contaminants present in environment could induce additive or synergistic effects on fish species.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partially supported by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001. VLL received a research fellowship from CNPq (National Research Council), Process number: 309314/2017-8. ATM received a doctoral fellowship from CAPES.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Animal, Centro de Ciências Naturais e Exatas, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil

    Aline Teixeira Marins, Cristina Cerezer, Eduardo Stringini Severo & Vania Lucia Loro

  2. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas—Bioquímica Toxicológica, Laboratório de Toxicologia Aquática, LABTAQ, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil

    Jossiele Wesz Leitemperger, Maiara Dorneles Costa, Danielle Ortiz Fontoura, Mauro Eugenio Medina Nunes & Vania Lucia Loro

  3. Laboratório de Análise de Resíduos de Pesticidas, LARP, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil

    Lucila Cendon Ribeiro & Renato Zanella

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  1. Aline Teixeira Marins
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Marins, A.T., Cerezer, C., Leitemperger, J.W. et al. A mixture of pesticides at environmental concentrations induces oxidative stress and cholinergic effects in the neotropical fish Rhamdia quelen. Ecotoxicology 30, 164–174 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-020-02300-6

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