Zebrafish embryo toxicity of 15 chlorinated, brominated, and iodinated disinfection by-products

Disinfection to protect human health occurs at drinking water and wastewater facilities through application of non-selective oxidants including chlorine. Oxidants also transform organic material and form disinfection by-products (DBPs), many of which are halogenated and cyto- and genotoxic. Only a handful of assays have been used to compare DBP toxicity, and researchers are unsure which DBP(s) drive the increased cancer risk associated with drinking chlorinated water. The most extensive data set employs an in vitro model cell, Chinese hamster ovary cells. Traditionally, most DBP research focuses on the threat to human health, but the effects on aquatic species exposed to DBPs in wastewater effluents remain ill defined. We present the developmental toxicity for 15 DBPs and a chlorinated wastewater to a model aquatic vertebrate, zebrafish. Mono-halogenated DBPs followed the in vivo toxicity rank order: acetamides > acetic acids > acetonitriles ~ nitrosamines, which agrees well with previously published mammalian in vitro data. Di- and tri-halogenated acetonitriles were more toxic than their mono-halogenated analogues, and bromine- and iodine-substituted DBPs tended to be more toxic than chlorinated analogues. No zebrafish development effects were observed after exposure to undiluted or non-concentrated, chlorinated wastewater. We find zebrafish development to be a viable in vivo alternative or confirmatory assay to mammalian in vitro cell assays.     

水体中黑碳对斑马鱼胚胎的生长发育危害识别

黑碳(BC)是含碳物质不完全燃烧后产生的残留物,广泛分布于水体、土壤和大气中,目前对于BC对水生生物的生态效应研究还十分有限。通过燃烧煤油获得BC,以斑马鱼胚胎为模式生物,研究了质量浓度分别为0,0.05,0.5和5 mg/L的BC悬浮溶液对斑马鱼早期生命阶段的生长发育毒性。结果表明,煤油源BC对斑马鱼具有明显的毒性作用,与对照组相比,BC暴露明显增加了斑马鱼的死亡率和心率,显著降低了孵化率和体长,导致斑马鱼形态畸形并且畸形率呈浓度依赖性。5mg/L的BC对斑马鱼的各项生长发育指标影响并非是最大的,可能与BC颗粒在水溶液中的聚集有关。该研究为BC在水生环境中的危害识别提供实验依据。     

斑马鱼对水源特定污染物的水质监测预警

选取浑浊度、石油类、亚硝酸盐、苯、砷化物、锰等不同类型的环境污染物,研究了斑马鱼在不同污染物压力下行为强度变化规律,分析了不同条件下斑马鱼的活性及在线系统报警特征。结果表明:斑马鱼的行为生态学变化与环境污染物压力存在显著的相关性。在不同类型的环境污染物下,斑马鱼行为变化存在明显差异,对砷和锰等剧毒物质更加敏感;在高浓度环境污染物压力下,斑马鱼的行为生态学特征出现剧烈变化;随着暴露时间的增加,斑马鱼的行为生态学变化会逐渐降低。斑马鱼的行为强度变化可以快速评判水质污染程度,但应结合当地的水质特征设定具体的报警阈值。     

应用斑马鱼和凡纳对虾诊断污染场地污水的生物毒性

应用斑马鱼(Brachydanio rerio)和凡纳对虾(Penaeus vannamei)对某废弃有机污染场地中有毒有机废弃物堆积产生的污水(1号塘污水)和场地及周边地表径流积水(2号塘污水)的生物毒性进行了试验.结果表明,1号塘污水对斑马鱼和凡纳对虾96 hLC50分别为46.2%和59.6%, 2号塘污水的毒性试验中两种试验生物的死亡率皆为0.化学检测表明,1号塘污水中的主要污染物为苯酚类和酞酸脂类物质,而2号塘污水中均未检出有机污染物.化学检测结果与毒性试验结果具有较好的相关性.     

Relationship between metabolic enzyme activities and bioaccumulation kinetics of PAHs in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Many studies have investigated bioaccumulation and metabolism of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in aquatic organisms. However, lack of studies investigated both processes simultaneously, and the interaction between these two processes is less understood so far. This study investigated the bioaccumulation kinetics of PAHs and metabolic enzyme activities, including total cytochrome P450 (CYPs) and total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), in zebrafish. Mature zebrafish was exposed to the mixture of phenanthrene and anthracene under constant concentration maintained by passive dosing systems for 16 days. The results showed that PAH concentrations in zebrafish experienced a peak value after exposure for 1.5 days, and then decreased gradually. The bioaccumulation equilibrium was achieved after exposure for 12 days. Both of the uptake rate constants (k_u) and the elimination rate constants (k_e) decreased after the peak value. The variation of PAH concentrations and metabolic enzyme activities in zebrafish had an interactive relationship. CYPs and T-SOD activities increased initially with the increase of PAH concentrations, but decreased to the lowest state when PAH concentrations reached the peak value. When the bioaccumulation equilibrium of PAHs was achieved, CYPs and T-SOD activities also reached the steady state. In general, CYPs and T-SOD activities were activated after exposure to PAHs. The decrease of PAH concentrations in zebrafish after the peak value may be attributed to the great drop of k_u and the variation of CYPs activities. This study suggests that an interactive relationship exists between bioaccumulation kinetics of PAHs and metabolic enzyme activities in aquatic organisms.     

Toxic effects of perfluorononanoic acid on the development of Zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos

Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) is a nine-carbon perfluoroalkyl acid widely used in industrial and domestic products. It is a persistent organic pollutant found in the environment as well as in the tissues of humans and wildlife. There is a concern that this chemical might be a developmental toxicant and teratogen in various ecosystems. In the present study, the toxic effects of PFNA were evaluated in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos. One hour post-fertilization embryos were treated with 0, 25, 50, 100, 200, 300, 350, and 400 μmol/L PFNA for 96 hr in 6-well plates. Developmental phenotypes and hatching rates were observed and recorded. Nineteen genes related to oxidative stress and lipid metabolism were examined using Quantitative RT-PCR and confirmed by whole mount in situ hybridization (WISH). Results showed that PFNA delayed the development of zebrafish embryos, reduced the hatching rate, and caused ventricular edema and malformation of the spine. In addition, the amount of reactive oxygen species in the embryo bodies increased significantly after exposure to PFNA compared with that of the control group. The Quantitative RT-PCR and WISH experiments demonstrated that mRNA expression of the lfabp and ucp2 genes increased significantly while that of sod1 and mt-nd1 decreased significantly after PFNA exposure. The mRNA expression levels of gpx1 and mt-atp6 decreased significantly in the high concentration group. However, the mRNA expression levels of both ppara and pparg did not show any significant variation after exposure. These findings suggest that PFNA affected the development of zebrafish embryos at relatively low concentrations.     

斑马鱼在环境检测领域中的应用

斑马鱼易饲养、易管理,体外受精和体外发育,可常年产卵、孵化,因此早期被作为模型动物广泛用于生物学研究中.近年来,随着环境问题日益突出,迫切需要有效、全面的环境监测手段和方法.斑马鱼或其转基因品种就是非常好的环境监测首选生物.因其对许多环境污染物十分敏感,可实时检测进入水环境的污染物.对斑马鱼在水体中重金属毒性、环境激素...     

斑马鱼胚胎在环境监测中的应用研究

作为一种新型的模式动物,斑马鱼胚胎具有快速、敏感、高通量和体外测试等优点.由于斑马鱼胚胎对外界环境变化极为敏感,是有毒有害物质检测的"活试剂",已被广泛应用于环境监测领域.着重阐述斑马鱼胚胎在重金属毒性监测、有机物毒性监测以及环境样品毒性监测等方面的应用,并梳理了当前国内外有关斑马鱼胚胎毒性测试方面的标准,旨在为斑马鱼胚胎在环境监测领域的研究提供重要参考.     

Effects of silver nanoparticles with different dosing regimens and exposure media on artificial ecosystem

Due to the wide use of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in various fields, it is crucial to explore the potential negative impacts on the aquatic environment of AgNPs entering into the environment in different ways. In this study, comparative experiments were conducted to investigate the toxicological impacts of polyvinylpyrrolidone-coated silver nanoparticles (PVP-AgNPs) with two kinds of dosing regimens, continuous and one-time pulsed dosing, in different exposure media (deionized water and XiangJiang River water). There were a number of quite different experimental results (including 100% mortality of zebrafish, decline in the activity of enzymes, and lowest number and length of adventitious roots) in the one-time pulsed dosing regimen at high PVP-AgNP concentration exposure (HOE) compared to the three other treatments. Meanwhile, we determined that the concentration of leached silver ions from PVP-AgNPs was too low to play a role in zebrafish death. Those results showed that HOE led to a range of dramatic ecosystem impacts which were more destructive than those of other treatments. Moreover, compared with the continuous dosing regimen, despite the fact that higher toxicity was observed for HOE, there was little difference in the removal of total silver from the aquatic environment for the different dosing regimens. No obvious differences in ecological impacts were observed between different water columns under low concentration exposure. Overall, this work highlighted the fact that the toxicity of AgNPs was impacted by different dosing regimens in different exposure media, which may be helpful for assessments of ecological impacts on aquatic environments.     

Study on acute toxicity and structure-activity relationship of zebrafish (Danio rerio) exposed to naphthoquinones

In this paper, we evaluated the acute toxicity of five naphthoquinone compounds, expressed as median lethal concentration at 96 h (LC₅₀) using zebrafish as a model. The five compounds were classified as harmful or very toxic. The Gaussian method was used to calculate the quantitative-chemical parameters of each compound. Based on the structure-activity relationship analysis, the interaction between the naphthoquinones and the target is likely mediated by 1-carbonyl and the hydrophobic fraction substituted in α -position of naphthoquinone via hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions. Our results provide a foundation for evaluating the aquatic ecological risk and the mode of action of naphthoquinones in the environment.