TY - JOUR
T1 - Impact of bisphenol-A and synthetic estradiol on brain, behavior, gonads and sex hormones in a sexually labile coral reef fish
AU - Gonzalez, Jose A.
AU - Histed, Abigail R.
AU - Nowak, Ewelina
AU - Lange, Dominica
AU - Craig, Sarah E.
AU - Parker, Coltan G.
AU - Kaur, Achint
AU - Bhuvanagiri, Supriya
AU - Kroll, Kevin J.
AU - Martyniuk, Christopher J.
AU - Denslow, Nancy D.
AU - Rosenfeld, Cheryl S.
AU - Rhodes, Justin S.
N1 - Funding Information:
CSR is supported by NIEHS 1R01ES025547 . We wish to thank Prithika Ravi for help with data collection.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2021/11
Y1 - 2021/11
N2 - Endocrine disrupting chemicals, such as bisphenol A (BPA) and ethinylestradiol (EE2), are detected in the marine environment from plastic waste and wastewater effluent. However, their impact on reproduction in sexually labile coral reef fish is unknown. The objective of this study was to determine impacts of environmentally relevant concentrations of BPA and EE2 on behavior, brain gene expression, gonadal histology, sex hormone profile, and plasma vitellogenin (Vtg) levels in the anemonefish, Amphiprion ocellaris. A. ocellaris display post-maturational sex change from male to female in nature. Sexually immature, male fish were paired together and fed twice daily with normal food (control), food containing BPA (100 μg/kg), or EE2 (0.02 μg/kg) (n = 9 pairs/group). Aggression toward an intruder male was measured at 1, 3, and 6 months. Blood was collected at 3 and 6 months to measure estradiol (E2), 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT), and Vtg. At the end of the study, fish were euthanized to assess gonad morphology and to measure expression of known sexually dimorphic genes in the brain. Relative to control, BPA decreased aggression, altered brain transcript levels, increased non-vitellogenic and vitellogenic eggs in the gonad, reduced 11-KT, and increased plasma Vtg. In two BPA-treated pairs, both individuals had vitellogenic eggs, which does not naturally occur. EE2 reduced 11-KT in subordinate individuals and altered expression of one transcript in the brain toward the female profile. Results suggest BPA, and to a lesser extent EE2, pollution in coral reef ecosystems could interfere with normal reproductive physiology and behavior of the iconic sexually labile anemonefish.
AB - Endocrine disrupting chemicals, such as bisphenol A (BPA) and ethinylestradiol (EE2), are detected in the marine environment from plastic waste and wastewater effluent. However, their impact on reproduction in sexually labile coral reef fish is unknown. The objective of this study was to determine impacts of environmentally relevant concentrations of BPA and EE2 on behavior, brain gene expression, gonadal histology, sex hormone profile, and plasma vitellogenin (Vtg) levels in the anemonefish, Amphiprion ocellaris. A. ocellaris display post-maturational sex change from male to female in nature. Sexually immature, male fish were paired together and fed twice daily with normal food (control), food containing BPA (100 μg/kg), or EE2 (0.02 μg/kg) (n = 9 pairs/group). Aggression toward an intruder male was measured at 1, 3, and 6 months. Blood was collected at 3 and 6 months to measure estradiol (E2), 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT), and Vtg. At the end of the study, fish were euthanized to assess gonad morphology and to measure expression of known sexually dimorphic genes in the brain. Relative to control, BPA decreased aggression, altered brain transcript levels, increased non-vitellogenic and vitellogenic eggs in the gonad, reduced 11-KT, and increased plasma Vtg. In two BPA-treated pairs, both individuals had vitellogenic eggs, which does not naturally occur. EE2 reduced 11-KT in subordinate individuals and altered expression of one transcript in the brain toward the female profile. Results suggest BPA, and to a lesser extent EE2, pollution in coral reef ecosystems could interfere with normal reproductive physiology and behavior of the iconic sexually labile anemonefish.
KW - 11-Ketotestosterone
KW - Aggression
KW - Bisphenol A
KW - EDC
KW - Endocrine disruptor
KW - Estradiol
KW - Ethinylestradiol
KW - Feminization
KW - Gonad
KW - Plastic
KW - Pollution
KW - Protandrous sex change
KW - Reproduction
KW - Vitellogenic
KW - Xenoestrogen
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85114407098&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85114407098&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105043
DO - 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105043
M3 - Article
C2 - 34507054
AN - SCOPUS:85114407098
SN - 0018-506X
VL - 136
JO - Hormones and Behavior
JF - Hormones and Behavior
M1 - 105043
ER -