Effects of the synthetic estrogen 17α‐ethinylestradiol on the life‐cycle of the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas)

By R. Länge, T. Hutchinson, C. Croudace, F. Siegmund, H. Schweinfurth, P. Hampe, G. Panter, J. Sumpter. 2001

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A fish full life‐cycle (FFLC) study was conducted for 17α‐ethinylestradiol (EE2) using the fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas. Newly fertilized embryos (<24 h old) were exposed to five concentrations of EE2 (0.2, 1.0, 4.0, 16, and 64 ng/L nominal) in continuous flow‐through conditions for 305 d at 25 ± 1°C. Exposure concentrations were verified by 14C‐EE2 radiochemistry, supported by radioimmunoassay, and mean measured values were ≥70% of nominal. For the F0 adult phase until 301 d posthatch, the no‐observed‐effect concentrations (NOECs) for growth, survival, and reproduction (as egg production) were all ≥ 1.0 ng/L. The NOEC values for F1 embryo hatching success and larval survival (at 28 d posthatch) were both ≥ 1.0 ng/L. While statistically detectable changes in F1 growth were evident at 0.2 ng/L, these were not considered to be biologically significant when compared with historical control data. Male fish exposed to EE2 at 4.0 ng/L failed to develop normal secondary sexual characteristics; on the other hand, assumed females exposed to this level of EE2 were able to breed when paired with males that had not been exposed to EE2. Histology of F0 control, 0.2‐, and 1‐ng/L exposed fish at 56 d posthatch indicated an approximate female‐to‐male (F:M) sex ratio of 50:50 (with no ovatestes observed in the control), while fish exposed to EE2 at 4.0 ng/L for 56 d posthatch had a F: M sex ratio of 84:5 (with ovatestes in 11% of fish). After 172 d posthatch, no testicular tissue was observed in any fish exposed to EE2 at 4.0 ng/L. At the same time point, plasma vitellogenin levels were significantly higher in fish exposed to EE2 at 16 ng/L. A lack of sexual differentiation occurred in males at concentrations ≥4.0 ng/L. Taking into account these data, the overall no‐observed‐adverse‐effect concentration was considered to be 1.0 ng/L.

Subfields: Aquatic Science, Nature and Landscape Conservation, Physiology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/a53677166a7c0591cbc9187dc68260a4ebce2733

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Citations in the corpus

Impacts of 17β-estradiol, including environmentally relevant concentrations, on reproduction after exposure during embryo-larval-, juvenile- and adult-life stages in zebrafish (Danio rerio) (2004, background): “Analysis of the effects of E2 on reproductive are complicated by the variability in the total number of eggs spawned by individual females, a finding that has been reported previously in studies in the fathead minnow (Kramer et al., 1998; Harries et al., 2000; Lange et al., 2001; Sohoni et al., 20”
Short‐term exposure to 17α‐ethynylestradiol decreases the fertility of sexually maturing male rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) (2003, background): “Where appropriate, short-term tests are followed by full life cycle tests or multigenerational studies [14,16].”
Long-Term Exposure to Environmental Concentrations of the Pharmaceutical Ethynylestradiol Causes Reproductive Failure in Fish (2004, background): “…(Andersen et al. 2003; Metcalfe et al. 2001; van Aerle et al. 2002; Van den Belt et al. 2003; Weber et al. 2003), 2–10 ng/L can affect fecundity (Lange et al. 2001; Scholz and Gutzeit 2000; Van den Belt et al. 2002), 10 ng/L affects reproductive behavior (Balch et al. 2004), and 1–10 ng/L can…”
Water Quality of Effluent-dominated Ecosystems: Ecotoxicological, Hydrological, and Management Considerations (2006, background): “In addition, following a complete life cycle study with fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) Länge et al. (2001) reported a lowest observed adverse effect treatment level of 4 ng l)1 EE2.”
Ecotoxicology of human pharmaceuticals. (2006, background): “This also holds for the steroid ones contained in contraceptive pills such as 1 - thinylestradiol (EE2), which is linked to biologic ffects in fish (Stumpf et al., 1996; Desbrow et a 998).”
Induction of Vitellogenin and Histological Effects in Wild Fathead Minnows from a Lake Experimentally Treated with the Synthetic Estrogen, Ethynylestradiol (2002, methodology): “CF will continue to be monitored in fathead minnows from this experiment as at least one other study has reported compromised growth at >1 ng EE2/L for 192 days (Lange et al. 2001).”
Predicted Exposures to Steroid Estrogens in U.K. Rivers Correlate with Widespread Sexual Disruption in Wild Fish Populations (2005, background): “…range), when replicated in laboratory experiments, they are high enough to induce VTG synthesis and intersex in some fish species (e.g., Balch et al. 2004; Lange et al. 2001; Metcalfe et al. 2001; Nash et al. 2004; Orn et al. 2003; Palace et al. 2002; Thorpe et al. 2003a; Van den Belt et al. 2004).”