Dimethachlor is a chloroacetanilide herbicide that interferes with the synthesis of very long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) in target plants (Yang et al., 2010). Because VL-CFAs are important lipid components in seeds and surface covering materials, such as plant waxes (von Wettstein-Knowles, 1993;Cassagne et al., 1994), compounds of the chloroacetanilide family have been used in crop production for more than 50 years (Junghans et al., 2003). Although these herbicides effectively increase agricultural productivity via the regulation of unwanted weeds, they have caused environmental pollution by leaching. For example, other chloroacetanilides, such as acetochlor, alachlor, and metolachlor, are detectable in surface water samples from rivers and streams (Battaglin et al., 2000). In the case of dimethachlor, its water solubility is 2,300 mg/ L; thus, a large amount of dimethachlor dissolves in water (Lewis et al., 2016). As the exposure of aquatic ecosystems to dimethachlor is highly probable because dissolved herbicides can leach with water flow (Ferreira Mendes et al., 2020), it is necessary to identify whether dimethachlor has a harmful effect on aquatic organisms.
In this study, the potential toxicity of isoprocarb was demonstrated using zebrafish embryos. We treated isoprocarb (0, 29, and 58 mg/L) to the zebrafish embryos for 72 h then, we estimated morphological changes and apoptotic cell numbers. The increasing extent of apoptosis from the anterior to posterior region of developing zebrafish larvae was correlated with toxicity in the overall development process, including growth and normal organ formation. The appearance of abnormalities in the isoprocarb-treated groups in comparison to normal developing zebrafish larvae was verified using quantitative image analysis based on ImageJ software program. The vascular system comprising a complex interconnection of blood vessels was visualized in vessel-fluorescent transgenic zebrafish (fli1:eGFP). The main vasculature was malformed on isoprocarb treatment, and this was also related to cardiac defects. Taken together, normal embryonic development in zebrafish was interrupted owing to the acute toxicity of isoprocarb.
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