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Female Reproductive Impacts of Dietary Methylmercury in Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) and Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

ABSTRACT: This study sought to evaluate the effects of dietary MeHg exposure on adult female yellow perch (Perca flavescens) and zebrafish (Danio rerio) reproduction by relating controlled exposures with subsequent reproductive effects. Yellow perch were used in the study for their socioeconomic and ecological importance within the Great Lakes basin, and the use of zebrafish allowed for a detailed analysis of the molecular effects of MeHg. MeHg exposures at environmentally relevant levels were done in zebrafish for a full life cycle, mimicking a realistic exposure scenario, and in adult yellow perch for twenty weeks, capturing early seasonal ovarian development. In zebrafish, several genes involved in reproductive processes were shown to be dysregulated by RNA-seq and QPCR, but no significant phenotypic or physiological changes were observed with ovarian staging, fecundity, or embryo mortality. Yellow perch did not appear to be affected by MeHg, either at a molecular level, as assessed by QPCR of eight genes in the pituitary, liver, and ovary tissue, or a physiological level, as seen with ovarian somatic index, circulating estradiol, and ovarian staging. Lack of impact in yellow perch limits the usefulness of zebrafish as a model and suggests that the reproductive sensitivity to environmentally relevant levels of MeHg differs between yellow perch and zebrafish.

ORGANISM(S): Danio rerio

PROVIDER: GSE73615 | GEO | 2018/01/01

SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA297460

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Methylmercury (MeHg) is a potent neurotoxin and endocrine disruptor that accumulates in aquatic systems. Previous studies have shown suppression of hormone levels in both male and female fish, suggesting effects on gonadotropin regulation in the brain. We investigated the gene expression profile in adult female zebrafish whole brain induced by acute (96 hr) MeHg exposure. Fish were exposed by injection to 0 or 0.5 M-BM-5g MeHg/g. Gene expression changes in the brain were examined using a two-color 22,000 feature zebrafish microarray. At a significance level of p<0.01, 79 genes were up-regulated and 76 genes were down-regulated in response to MeHg exposure. Individual genes exhibiting altered expression in response to MeHg exposure implicate effects on glutathione metabolism and GABA-A receptors in the mechanism of MeHg neurotoxicity. Gene ontology (GO) terms significantly enriched among altered genes included protein folding, cell redox homeostasis, and steroid biosynthetic process. The most affected biological functions were related to the nervous system development and function, as well as lipid metabolism and molecular transport. These results support the involvement of oxidative stress and effects on protein structure in the mechanism of action of MeHg in the female brain. Future studies will compare the gene expression profile induced in response to MeHg with that induced by other toxins and investigate responsive genes as potential biomarkers of MeHg exposure. Wild-type strain AB-1 zebrafish (Zebrafish International Resource Center, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR) were cultured at the Columbia Environmental Research Center (CERC), USGS, for MeHg exposures. Adult female zebrafish were injected with 0 M-NM-<g/g or 0.5 M-NM-<g/g MeHg in 2 M-BM-5L Na2CO3 (pH 6.98)/g body weight. After 96 hr, fish were anesthetized using ethyl 3-aminobenzoate methanesulfonate (MS-222, Sigma, St. Louis, MO). Whole brains were removed, flash frozen with liquid nitrogen and stored at 80M-BM-0C. For the microarray experiment, two zebrafish brains were pooled per sample. Four pooled samples were taken from fish treated with 0.5 M-NM-<g/g of MeHg, and the other five were taken from control fish treated with sodium carbonate. Array hybridizations were performed using a reference design, where each sample was compared to a reference sample. The reference sample consisted of equal amounts of RNA from control and treated female brains. Five replicates for the control and four replicates for the treated were analyzed. cDNA synthesis, cRNA labeling, amplification and hybridization were performed following the manufacturerM-bM-^@M-^Ys kits and protocols (Agilent Low RNA Input Fluorescent Linear Amplification Kit and Agilent 60-mer oligo microarray processing protocol; Agilent, Palo Alto, CA).

Project description:Three-month old zebrafish were fed Biodiet starter (4% body weight per day) with MeHg added at 0, 0.5, 5 and 50 ppm for six weeks. Atomic absorption spectrometry was applied to measure the level of MeHg in the whole fish body. Zebrafish at six weeks were sampled from each group for gene expression analysis by NimbleGen Gene Expression 12X135K zebrafish microarrays. MeHg-exposed trout and zebrafish did not show overt signs of toxicity, nor were significant differences seen in mortality, length, mass, or condition factor. The chronic accumulation of total Hg in zebrafish exhibited dose- and time-dependent patterns. The dysregulated genes in MeHg-treated fish have multiple functional annotations, such as involving metabolism, cellular development, ion binding, stress response, transcriptional regulation, and apoptotic pathways. These results show that numerous molecular pathways involved in the growth and development of multiple organ systems are disrupted by exposure to moderate levels of dietary MeHg. The dysregulated genes will be selected by further analysis and used as biomarkers for MeHg exposure in aquatic environments. This study will allow us to assess the potential impacts of low-level exposure to environmental MeHg in the food chain and on the health of humans and animals. Three-month old zebrafish (Danio rerio, average body 0.149 g) were fed Biodiet Starter (Bio-Oregon) 4% of body weight per day with MeHg added at 0ppm, 0.5ppm, 5ppm and 50ppm (with ethanol as vehicle). Fish at six weeks were sampled from each group for gene expression analysis. Three fish from each treatment group were used for microarray experiments. Total RNA from individual fish was isolated using Trizol reagent (Invitrogen) and further purified using the RNeasy MiniElute cleanup kit (Qiagen). Double-strand cDNA was synthesized from 10ug total RNA of individual fish by using Superscript Double-Stranded cDNA synthesis Kit (Invitrogen). ). One ug double strand DNA was labeled with Cy3 using One-Color DNA labeling Kit (NimbleGen), then hybridized to NimbleGen 12X135K array. The arrays were scanned at 2um on a NimbleGen MS200 scanner with auto-gain adjust. The TIFF images were gridded and extracted using NimbleScan v. 2.6. Expression data were normalized using the Robust Multichip Average (RMA) algorithm.

Project description:Our main objectives wereto investigate the molecular mechanisms involved in metal toxicity and detoxification in the field using juvenile yellow perch subjected to differents levels of this metal exposure. Recent local adaptation to pollution has been evidenced in several organisms inhabiting environments heavily contaminated by metals. Nevertheless, the molecular mechanisms underlying adaptation to high metal concentrations are poorly understood, especially in fishes. Yellow perch (Perca flavescens) populations from lakes in the mining area of Rouyn-Noranda (QC, Canada) have been faced with metal contamination for about 90 years. Here, we examine gene transcription patterns of fish reciprocally transplanted between a reference and a metal-contaminated lake and also fish caged in their native lake. After four weeks, 111 genes were differentially transcribed in metal-naÃ¯ve fish transferred to the metal-contaminated lake, revealing a plastic response to metal exposure. Genes involved in the citric cycle and beta-oxidation pathways were under-transcribed, suggesting a potential strategy to mitigate the effects of metal stress by reducing energy turnover. However, metal-contaminated fish transplanted to the reference lake did not show any transcriptomic response, indicating a reduced plastic response capability to sudden reduction in metal concentrations. Moreover, the transcription of other genes, especially ones involved in energy metabolism, was affected by caging. Overall, our results highlight environmental stress response mechanisms in yellow perch at the transcriptomic level and support a rapid adaptive response to metal exposure through genetic assimilation. Comparison between fish Op and OpâOp using a pairwise design corresponding to the cage experiment in the reference lake Opasatica (Op), comparison between fish Du and DuâDu using a pairwise design corresponding to the cage experiment in the metal contaminated lake Dufault (Du), comparison between fish from reference lake transplanted to the metal contaminated lake (OpâDu) and fish from reference lake caged in their own lake (OpâOp) using pairwise design corresponding to the experiment of metal contamination, comparison between fish from metal contaminated lake transplanted to the reference lake (DuâOp) and fish from the metal contaminated lake caged in their own lake (DuâDu) using pairwise design corresponding to the depuration experiment.

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Female Reproductive Impacts of Dietary Methylmercury in Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) and Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

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