Long-term food-exposure of zebrafish to PCB mixtures mimicking some environmental situations induces ovary pathology and impairs reproduction ability

Type Article
Date 2011-10
Language English
Author(s) Daouk Tarek1, 2, Larcher Thibaut3, Roupsard Francois4, Lyphout Laura1, Rigaud Cyril1, Ledevin Mireille3, Loizeau VeroniqueORCID4, Cousin XavierORCID1, 2, 5
Affiliation(s) 1 : IFREMER, LHoumeau, F-17137 Lhoumeau, France.
2 : Univ La Rochelle, CNRS, IFREMER, FR 3097, F-17000 La Rochelle, France.
3 : Oniris, INRA, APEX, UMR703, F-44307 Nantes, France.
4 : IFREMER, Ctr Brest, Lab Biogeochim Contaminants Organ, F-29280 Plouzane, France.
5 : INRA SCRIBE, F-35042 Rennes, France.
Source Aquatic Toxicology (0166-445X) (Elsevier Science Bv), 2011-10 , Vol. 105 , N. 3-4 , P. 270-278
DOI 10.1016/j.aquatox.2011.06.021
WOS© Times Cited 58
Keyword(s) Zebrafish, PCBs, Chronic exposure, Physiology, Reproduction, Atresia
Abstract Although the use of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) has been banned for several decades, they are still present in the environment and are occasionally mechanically released from sediment or transferred through the trophic chain. Field analyses have established correlations between exposure to PCBs and alterations in fish physiology including reproductive function. Experimental exposures have been mainly performed using dioxin-like PCBs or other congeners at very high concentrations. However, these studies are often difficult to relate to real-life conditions. In the present study, we performed a life-cycle exposure using zebrafish model and mixtures representative of some environmental situations in terms of doses, composition and containing mainly non dioxin-like congeners. Exposure was performed through diet which is the main contamination route in the field. We demonstrated a bioaccumulation of PCBs in males and females as well as a maternal transfer to the eggs. Survival, growth and organ size were similar for all conditions. Several reproductive traits were altered after exposure to a PCB-contaminated diet, including a reduction in the number of fertilized eggs per spawn as well as an increase of the number of poorly fertilized spawns. This latter observation was found irrespective of the sex of contaminated fish. This is related to modifications of ovary histology revealing a decrease of maturing follicles and an increase of atretic follicles in the ovaries of females exposed to PCBs. These results indicate that exposure to PCBs mixtures mimicking some environmental situations, including mainly non dioxin-like congeners, can lead to a dramatic reduction in the number of offspring produced by a female over a lifetime. This is of great concern for wild species living under natural conditions. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Daouk Tarek, Larcher Thibaut, Roupsard Francois, Lyphout Laura, Rigaud Cyril, Ledevin Mireille, Loizeau Veronique, Cousin Xavier (2011). Long-term food-exposure of zebrafish to PCB mixtures mimicking some environmental situations induces ovary pathology and impairs reproduction ability. Aquatic Toxicology, 105(3-4), 270-278. Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2011.06.021 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00059/17038/