Effects of sewage effluent and ethynyl oestradiol upon molecular markers of oestrogenic exposure, maturation and reproductive success in the sand goby ( Pomatoschistus minutus, Pallas)

Male fish in several UK estuaries are known to be exposed to oestrogenic contamination, and whilst a limited number of studies have shown that exposure to oestrogens can reduce the reproductive success of fish, the impact of environmentally relevant exposures is less clear. The aim of this study was...

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Published in:	Aquatic toxicology 2003-01, Vol.62 (2), p.119-134
Main Authors:	Robinson, Craig D, Brown, Elaine, Craft, John A, Davies, Ian M, Moffat, Colin F, Pirie, David, Robertson, Fiona, Stagg, Ronald M, Struthers, Susan
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Agnatha. Pisces Animal, plant and microbial ecology Animals Applied ecology Aves Biological and medical sciences Brackish British Isles DNA, Complementary Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution Effects of pollution and side effects of pesticides on vertebrates Egg Proteins - biosynthesis Endocrine disruption Estradiol Congeners - adverse effects estrogens Ethinyl Estradiol - adverse effects Ethynyl oestradiol Female Fertility - drug effects Fish Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology Male Marine Perciformes - physiology Pomatoschistus minutus Reproduction - drug effects Reproductive success RNA, Messenger Sewage - chemistry Sewage effluent Vitellogenesis - drug effects Vitellogenin and zona radiata protein mRNA expression Vitellogenins - biosynthesis Water Pollutants, Chemical - adverse effects
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Summary:	Male fish in several UK estuaries are known to be exposed to oestrogenic contamination, and whilst a limited number of studies have shown that exposure to oestrogens can reduce the reproductive success of fish, the impact of environmentally relevant exposures is less clear. The aim of this study was, therefore, to investigate the effects of exposure to environmentally realistic concentrations of a sewage effluent and the synthetic oestrogen 17α-ethynyl oestradiol (EE 2) upon the reproductive success of a marine fish. Sand goby ( Pomatoschistus minutus) were exposed for 7 months to EE 2 or a sewage effluent containing known xeno-oestrogens (alkylphenol polyethoxylates) and bred using within treatment crosses. Nominal exposure concentrations were 6 ng l −1 EE 2, 0.3 or 0.03% v/v sewage effluent. At the end of the breeding trials, expression of hepatic zona radiata protein (Zrp) and vitellogenin (Vtg) mRNA were determined using two recently developed cDNA probes. Exposure to 6 ng l −1 EE 2 induced Zrp and Vtg mRNA expression in male and female sand goby, impaired male maturation and reproductive behaviour, reduced female fecundity and reduced egg fertility. As a consequence, fertile egg production of the EE 2-exposed population was reduced by 90%. Exposure to sewage effluent (0.3% v/v) increased adult mortality and female Zrp and Vtg mRNA expression, but did not induce male vitellogenesis. Exposure to EE 2 and 0.3% v/v sewage effluent impaired development of the male urogenital papilla. Fish exposed to 0.03% v/v sewage effluent produced more fertile eggs than those exposed to 0.3% effluent, or those receiving no effluent. It is concluded that male vitellogenesis in an oestrogenically exposed population may be accompanied by reduced reproductive success, but that it may not be indicative of altered reproductive output in a population exposed to an industrial sewage effluent.
ISSN:	0166-445X 1879-1514