Evaluation of estrogenicity of sewage effluent and reclaimed water using vitellogenin as a biomarker

Abstract

To evaluate the quality of reclaimed water, the estrogenicity of effluent from a sewage treatment plant and of reclaimed water treated with coagulation-sedimentation-filtration using the effluent as raw water was assessed using vitellogenin (VTG) as a biomarker. After a three-week exposure, significant (p < 0.05) induction of VTG occurred in female crucian carp (Carassius carassius) exposed continuously to the secondary effluent and reclaimed water with different dilutions (12.5, 25, 50, and 100% for secondary effluent; 50 and 100% for reclaimed water); no induction of VTG was detected when exposed to 12.5 and 25% reclaimed water. For male fish, however, only 100% secondary effluent induced the production of VTG (mean +/- standard deviation, 38.6 +/- 9.8 microg/ml). When the exposure time was prolonged to three months, VTG was induced significantly in both females and males at all gradient concentrations of secondary effluent and at 50 and 100% reclaimed water. The results indicated that no obvious VTG was detected in fish exposed to reclaimed water diluted more than fourfold. Ozonation of the secondary effluent under an ozone consumption dose of 8.5 mg/L resulted in a VTG level equal to that of 12.5% secondary effluent or 50% reclaimed water. Furthermore, VTG induction reflects the cumulative effects of estrogenic activity in the secondary effluent and reclaimed water compared with the in vitro assays, in which estrogenic activities in effluent changed markedly during the experiment.

Efficiency of advanced wastewater treatment technologies for the reduction of hormonal activity in effluents and connected surface water bodies by means of vitellogenin analyses in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and brown trout (Salmo trutta f. fario)

“…In contrast to our results, a study with crucian carp showed that VTG levels in immature female and male carps were reduced when the wastewater was treated with ozone [ 20 ]; however, the carps already had higher VTG induction in the normal effluent compared with controls and our trout did not show higher VTG levels in the normal effluent compared with the negative controls.…”

Effects of conventionally treated and ozonated wastewater on the damselfly larva oxylipidome in response to on-site exposure

“…However, there are conflicting findings on the residual toxicity as well as biological effects of ozonated wastewater. Some studies observed reduced toxicity of ozonated wastewater, for example, in terms of reduced estrogenicity in fish (An et al, 2008;Filby et al, 2010;Gunnarsson et al, 2009), and reduced genotoxic activity of bacteria, plant, and mammalian cells (Mišík et al, 2011). Other studies reported potentially adverse effects on exposed biota, for example increased reproduction of water flea Ceriodaphnia dubia (Blatchley et al, 1997), increased cytochrome P450 (CYP) induction in nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (Abbas et al, 2018), and increased reproduction and estrogenicity as well as decreased activity in fish (Pohl et al, 2018).…”

“…As endpoints, biochemical biomarkers of sub-lethal effects such as the enzymes catalase (CAT), cholinesterase (ChE), and cytochrome P450 (CYP), have been measured in various aquatic species to establish their ability to reflect pollution in the aquatic environment (Sarkar et al, 2006;Wigh et al, 2017;Rodrigues et al, 2019). To evaluate the residual toxicity of wastewater treated with ozonation and other additional wastewater treatment techniques, vitellogenin (VTG) has been used as a biomarker for estrogenicity in fish (An et al, 2008;Gunnarsson et al, 2009;Filby et al, 2010). A new group of potential biochemical biomarkers are oxylipins (the oxylipidome).…”