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

Present in the excrement of humans and animals, 17 beta-estradiol (E-2) 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 E-2 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) E-2 in the adult stage, but 100 ng l(-1) E-2 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) E-2. These results showed that VTG induction in the adult stage is more sensitive than in larval and juvenile stages following exposure to E-2. 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.

The Chinese rare minnow (Gobiocypris rarus) as an in vivo model for endocrine disruption in freshwater teleosts: a full life-cycle test with diethylstilbestrol

Chinese rare minnow (Gobiocypris rarus), a freshwater teleost,. was exposed to diethylstilbestrol (DES) at 0.05, 0.5, 1 and 5 mug/L from fertilized eggs for up to mature period under flow-through condition. Several endpoints that related to development, reproductive fitness and transgenerational effects were evaluated. It was found that body length and body weight were significantly reduced and vitellogenin (Via) levels were significantly increased for fish exposed to DES. Histological examination showed that the sex ratios of F-0 fish skewed to female and about 2% of the fish exposed to 0.05 mug/L DES developed testes-ova. The reproductive success, as determined from data on egg production, was reduced in female fish exposed to 0.05, 0.5, 1 and 5 mug/L DES. The lowest-observed-effect concentrations (LOEC) for chances of sex ratios, reproductive success and histology alteration of F-0 are 0.05 mug/L. In the offspring, transgenerational effects on egg hatching rate. egg fertilization and Vtg levels of juvenile individuals were not observed. However. survival of F, generation fry significantly declined. The analysis of sex steroid levels revealed a significant decrease of testosterone (T) in the whole body homogenates (WBH) of male progeny and somewhat elevation of estradiol (E-T) in the WBH of female offspring. These findings indicate that exposure to DES causes a variety of developmental, reproductive and transgenerational effects. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.