β-Ionone causes endocrine disruption, hyperpigmentation and hypoactivity in zebrafish early life stages

作者：Zhou, Weicheng; Wang, Yuming; Wang, Jinglong; Peng, Chengrong; Wang, Zhicong; Qin, Hongjie; Li, Genbao; Li, Dunhai^*

来源：Science of the Total Environment, 2022, 834: 155433.

DOI：10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155433

• Taste and odor
• Toxicity
• Melanin
• Locomotion

In nature, the odorous substance beta-ionone has been widely detected in aquatic ecosystems. However, little is known about its ecotoxicological effects on freshwater vertebrates. In this study, we aimed to assess the acute toxicity of beta-ionone in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos from 2 to 120 h post fertilization (hpf) and investigate embryo development, locomotor behavior and pigmentation under different concentrations. The results showed that exposure to beta-ionone had an acute toxicity to early life stages of zebrafish and induced a decrease in hatching rate and an increase in the mortality and malformation rate. The median lethal concentration (LC50) of beta-ionone at 96 h was observed as 1321 mu g/L. In addition, beta-ionone not only affected the body length of zebrafish larvae but also regulated the transcription of genes and the levels of hormones involved in the growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor (GH/IGF) and the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axes. Moreover, exposure to beta-ionone induced significant decreases in locomotor activity and catecholamine neurotransmitters levels. Furthermore, beta-ionone stimulated pigmentation via regulation of tyrosinase activity and melanin-related gene expression. Overall, this research could provide new insights into the potential risk of odorants to aquatic organisms.

• 单位
  中国科学院研究生院; 广东省农业科学院