2. Academic Validation
  3. Diafenthiuron causes developmental toxicity in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Diafenthiuron causes developmental toxicity in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

  • Chemosphere. 2023 May:323:138253. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138253.
Menglan Su 1,  Rongkai Bao 1,  Yaqing Wu 2,  Bo Gao 1,  Peng Xiao 3,  Wenhua Li 4
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Engineering Research Center of Molecular Medicine of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Fujian Molecular Medicine, Key Laboratory of Xiamen Marine and Gene Drugs, Key Laboratory of Precision Medicine and Molecular Diagnosis of Fujian Universities, School of Biomedical Sciences, Huaqiao University, Xiamen, 361021, PR China.
  • 2 Instrumental Analysis Center of Huaqiao University, Xiamen, 361021, PR China.
  • 3 National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Ecological Treatment Technology of Urban Water Pollution, Zhejiang Provincial Key Lab for Water Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection, Institute for Eco-environmental Research of Sanyang Wetland, College of Life and Environmental Science, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, 325035, PR China. Electronic address: pxiao@wzu.edu.cn.
  • 4 Engineering Research Center of Molecular Medicine of Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Fujian Molecular Medicine, Key Laboratory of Xiamen Marine and Gene Drugs, Key Laboratory of Precision Medicine and Molecular Diagnosis of Fujian Universities, School of Biomedical Sciences, Huaqiao University, Xiamen, 361021, PR China. Electronic address: wenhuali@hqu.edu.cn.
PMID: 36849025 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138253
Abstract

Diafenthiuron, a broad-spectrum insecticide and acaricide used for agricultural crop protection, is highly toxic to nontarget organisms. However, the developmental toxicity of diafenthiuron and its underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the developmental toxicity of diafenthiuron in zebrafish. Zebrafish embryos were exposed to diafenthiuron at different concentrations (0.01, 0.1, and 1 μM) from 3 to 120 h post fertilization (hpf). Diafenthiuron exposure significantly shortened the body lengths of zebrafish larvae and significantly decreased superoxide dismutase activity. It also downregulated the spatiotemporal expression of pomc and prl, marker genes involved in pituitary development. Moreover, diafenthiuron exposure downregulated the spatiotemporal expression of liver-specific marker, fabp10a, and inhibited the development of the liver, a detoxification organ. In conclusion, our data provide evidence of the developmental toxicity and hepatotoxicity of diafenthiuron in aquatic organisms, and they are instrumental for further environmental risk assessment of diafenthiuron in aquatic ecosystems.

Keywords

Developmental toxicity; Diafenthiuron; Liver; Oxidative damage; Pituitary; Zebrafish.

Figures
Products