Detection of endocrine disrupters: Evaluation of a Fish Sexual Development Test (FSDT)

The progestin levonorgestrel affects sex differentiation in zebrafish at environmentally relevant concentrations

“…It is interesting that we observed 100% males in the zebrafish exposed to 10 ng/L LNG. Several previous studies have shown that exposure of fish to environmental androgens during their early life-stages could result in male-biased populations (Blázquez et al, 2001;Holbech et al, 2006;Örn et al, 2003). Therefore, our results suggest that LNG is a potent androgen, with strong androgenic activity.…”

“…It is well known that exposure to xenoestrogens or androgens in zebrafish during critical periods of the life cycle can affect sex differentiation, resulting in a change of the sex ratio towards females or males, respectively (Holbech et al, 2006;Örn et al, 2003). As LNG has strong androgenic activity, we hypothesize that LNG may affect sex differentiation during the gonadal differentiation period, which will lead to biased sex ratios of the exposed fish.…”

Long-term exposure investigating the estrogenic potency of estriol in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes)

“…Several studies have determined the estrogenic effects of E3 using in vitro assays (Tollefsen et al, 2003;Denny et al, 2005;Luo et al, 2011;Lange et al, 2012). However, few studies reported the estrogenic effect of E3 on fish using in vivo assays, and in these studies, only early life stage of fish was exposed to E3, or only single test endpoint such as intersex (i.e., testis-ova) in fish was investigated (Metcalfe et al, 2001;Holbech et al, 2006). There is still a lack of comprehensive assessment of growth and development including multiple endpoints in a full life cycle from fertilization to sexual maturation in fish exposed to E3.…”

Effects of insecticides on aquatic ecosystems in Bangladesh

“…Xenoestrogens are structurally similar to 17β -estradiol (E2), such as 17α -ethinylestradiol (EE2), which exert their estrogenic effects on gonadal differentiation by mimicking the actions of endogenous estrogens and thereby inducing phenotypic feminization (Andersen et al, 2003;Kuhl et al, 2005). The phenotypic feminization in Banded Gourami fish induced by chlorpyrifos toxicity observed in our study is in accordance with earlier studies in fishes exposed to different EDCs (Holbech et al, 2006;Marchand et al, 2010;Tillitt et al, 2010;Tian et al, 2012;Zhang et al, 2013).…”