Oral Presentation SETAC Asia-Pacific Virtual Conference 2022

Effects of new brominated flame retardants on gonadal development of zebrafish and its endocrine disrupting mechanism (#59)

Jingyi Wang 1 , Xianyi Xie 1 , Hongling Liu 1
  1. Nanjing University, Nanjing, JIANGSU, China

  Fishes exhibit sexual plasticity, but the underlying mechanisms of environmental effects on their reproduction are unclear. To the model organism, zebrafish, gonad develops after fertilization, from juvenile stage (10 days after fertilization, 10 dpf) to adulthood (90dpf), with an important window period (25-45 dpf) . The direction and development degree of gonad differentiation may change if there are pollutants. As substitutes of traditional brominated flame retardants, the use of 2-ethylhexyl-2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (TBB), bis (2-ethylhexyl) tetrabromophthalate (TBPH) and 1,2,5,6-tetrabromocyclooctane (TBCO) is increasing, and may exist in the environment for a long time. This study represents a comprehensive assessment of toxicity of the three agents, continuous exposure (10-90dpf) from shrimp feeding to sexual maturity of zebrafish under TBCO, TBPH and TBB with three concentrations of 0.01 μM, 0.1 μM and 1μM, respectively. After 80 days of exposure, both TBCO and TBB affected the gonadal development and female-to-male ratio of zebrafish, while TBPH had no significant effect. At the tissue level, with the increase of TBCO exposure concentration, the proportion of mature germ cells in the gonads of female and male fish decreased gradually, and the gonadal development was delayed; TBPH promoted oocyte development. TBB exposure had no significant effect on the gonadal germ cell. At 25dpf and 45dpf, TBCO exposure increased the ratio of estrogen to androgen in zebrafish, and the expression of related genes showed feminization. TBPH exposure maintained a good balance of male and female , and the expression of gonadal differentiation related genes was not significantly affected. At low and medium concentrations of TBB, the synthesis of androgen is more than that of estrogen. The expression of related genes is masculinization, while feminization at high concentrations. Overall, continuous attention should be paid to new brominated flame retardants in order to better monitor and control their risks to the ecosystem.