TY - JOUR
T1 - Multigenerational and Transgenerational Effects of Environmentally Relevant Concentrations of Endocrine Disruptors in an Estuarine Fish Model
AU - Decourten, Bethany M.
AU - Forbes, Joshua P.
AU - Roark, Hunter K.
AU - Burns, Nathan P.
AU - Major, Kaley M.
AU - White, J. Wilson
AU - Li, Jie
AU - Mehinto, Alvine C.
AU - Connon, Richard E.
AU - Brander, Susanne M.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank the staff at the UNCW Center for Marine Science and Department of Biology and Marine Biology for support during the experiment with special acknowledgement to Rob Deans for designing, building, and supporting the necessary aquaria. We thank numerous UNCW undergraduate assistants for their invaluable support. We thank Keith Maruya and Shane Snyder for performing analytical chemistry on water samples. The sequencing was carried out at the DNA Technologies and Expression Analysis Cores at the UC Davis Genome Center, supported by NIH Shared Instrumentation Grant 1S10OD010786-01. We also acknowledge the use of equipment and facilities in the Dept. of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology and at the Center for Genome Research and Biocomputing, Oregon State University. We acknowledge funding from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA STAR # 835799) and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW # P1796002), which supported this research.
PY - 2020/11/3
Y1 - 2020/11/3
N2 - Many pollutants cause endocrine disruption in aquatic organisms. While studies of the direct effects of toxicants on exposed organisms are commonplace, little is known about the potential for toxicant exposures in a parental (F0) generation to affect unexposed F1 or F2 generations (multigenerational and transgenerational effects, respectively), particularly in estuarine fishes. To investigate this possibility, we exposed inland silversides (Menidia beryllina) to environmentally relevant (low ng/L) concentrations of ethinylestradiol, bifenthrin, trenbolone, and levonorgestrel from 8 hpf to 21 dph. We then measured development, immune response, reproduction, gene expression, and DNA methylation for two subsequent generations following the exposure. Larval exposure (F0) to each compound resulted in negative effects in the F0 and F1 generations, and for ethinylestradiol and levonorgestrel, the F2 also. The specific endpoints that were responsive to exposure in each generation varied, but included increased incidence of larval deformities, reduced larval growth and survival, impaired immune function, skewed sex ratios, ovarian atresia, reduced egg production, and altered gene expression. Additionally, exposed fish exhibited differences in DNA methylation in selected genes, across all three generations, indicating epigenetic transfer of effects. These findings suggest that assessments across multiple generations are key to determining the full magnitude of adverse effects from contaminant exposure in early life.
AB - Many pollutants cause endocrine disruption in aquatic organisms. While studies of the direct effects of toxicants on exposed organisms are commonplace, little is known about the potential for toxicant exposures in a parental (F0) generation to affect unexposed F1 or F2 generations (multigenerational and transgenerational effects, respectively), particularly in estuarine fishes. To investigate this possibility, we exposed inland silversides (Menidia beryllina) to environmentally relevant (low ng/L) concentrations of ethinylestradiol, bifenthrin, trenbolone, and levonorgestrel from 8 hpf to 21 dph. We then measured development, immune response, reproduction, gene expression, and DNA methylation for two subsequent generations following the exposure. Larval exposure (F0) to each compound resulted in negative effects in the F0 and F1 generations, and for ethinylestradiol and levonorgestrel, the F2 also. The specific endpoints that were responsive to exposure in each generation varied, but included increased incidence of larval deformities, reduced larval growth and survival, impaired immune function, skewed sex ratios, ovarian atresia, reduced egg production, and altered gene expression. Additionally, exposed fish exhibited differences in DNA methylation in selected genes, across all three generations, indicating epigenetic transfer of effects. These findings suggest that assessments across multiple generations are key to determining the full magnitude of adverse effects from contaminant exposure in early life.
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U2 - 10.1021/acs.est.0c02892
DO - 10.1021/acs.est.0c02892
M3 - Article
C2 - 32989987
AN - SCOPUS:85095461580
VL - 54
SP - 13849
EP - 13860
JO - Environmental Science & Technology
JF - Environmental Science & Technology
SN - 0013-936X
IS - 21
ER -