Pub Date : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2026-02-06DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2026.107749
Xiumei Yang , Xianmei Zhang , Guojun Jian , Yuanhui Zhu , Hangyu Chen , Xiaoxi Mu , Jie Li , Bijin Zhu , Hui Lu , Yan An , Tingxu Jin
Fluoride is a widespread environmental contaminant, but current water standards, based on skeletal toxicity, may underestimate neurodevelopmental risks. This study directly compares the sensitivity of the central nervous system (CNS) and skeletal system to fluoride at concentrations (0.5–20.0 mg/L) spanning international regulatory limits, using larval zebrafish. An integrated assessment combining behavior, transcriptomics, and benchmark dose modeling was conducted. Fluoride accumulated in the brain dose dependently and induced hyperlocomotion at 0.5 mg/L, indicating neuroexcitation. In contrast, skeletal changes were biphasic, with reduced mineralization only at 20.0 mg/L. Transcriptomics showed broader enrichment of CNS related pathways versus skeletal pathways. Consistently, key neural markers (neun, tmem119a) were upregulated at all concentrations, while skeletal markers (bglap, acp5b) responded inconsistently. Bayesian model averaging revealed that the average benchmark concentration lower limit for CNS markers was 0.17 mg/L—an order of magnitude lower than for skeletal markers (1.83 mg/L). These results quantitatively establish the developing CNS as a more sensitive target than the skeleton at regulatory level exposures. The significant sensitivity disparity suggests that standards based primarily on osteotoxicity may not adequately protect against neurodevelopmental effects. Further research is needed to translate these biomarker based thresholds into functional outcomes for comprehensive health risk assessment.
{"title":"Environmental standard limit fluoride exposure prioritizes neurotoxicity over osteotoxicity in larval zebrafish: A benchmark dose analysis","authors":"Xiumei Yang , Xianmei Zhang , Guojun Jian , Yuanhui Zhu , Hangyu Chen , Xiaoxi Mu , Jie Li , Bijin Zhu , Hui Lu , Yan An , Tingxu Jin","doi":"10.1016/j.aquatox.2026.107749","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aquatox.2026.107749","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Fluoride is a widespread environmental contaminant, but current water standards, based on skeletal toxicity, may underestimate neurodevelopmental risks. This study directly compares the sensitivity of the central nervous system (CNS) and skeletal system to fluoride at concentrations (0.5–20.0 mg/L) spanning international regulatory limits, using larval zebrafish. An integrated assessment combining behavior, transcriptomics, and benchmark dose modeling was conducted. Fluoride accumulated in the brain dose dependently and induced hyperlocomotion at 0.5 mg/L, indicating neuroexcitation. In contrast, skeletal changes were biphasic, with reduced mineralization only at 20.0 mg/L. Transcriptomics showed broader enrichment of CNS related pathways versus skeletal pathways. Consistently, key neural markers (<em>neun, tmem119a</em>) were upregulated at all concentrations, while skeletal markers (<em>bglap, acp5b</em>) responded inconsistently. Bayesian model averaging revealed that the average benchmark concentration lower limit for CNS markers was 0.17 mg/L—an order of magnitude lower than for skeletal markers (1.83 mg/L). These results quantitatively establish the developing CNS as a more sensitive target than the skeleton at regulatory level exposures. The significant sensitivity disparity suggests that standards based primarily on osteotoxicity may not adequately protect against neurodevelopmental effects. Further research is needed to translate these biomarker based thresholds into functional outcomes for comprehensive health risk assessment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":248,"journal":{"name":"Aquatic Toxicology","volume":"293 ","pages":"Article 107749"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146134426","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2026-02-06DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2026.107748
Fateme Taridashti , Patricija Marjan , Markus Hecker , Kelly R. Munkittrick
Urban stormwater runoff is a growing concern for aquatic ecosystems because it contains complex mixture of nutrients and chemical contaminants. This study assessed molecular and physiological responses in wild fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) in the stormwater-dominated Nose Creek Watershed, Alberta, Canada. Adult fish were sampled from multiple sites ranging from agriculturally influenced sites to urban-impacted reaches, during the pre-spawning period in May and post-spawn in September 2023. Water quality parameters and fish health endpoints (e.g. condition factor, liversomatic, and gonadosomatic indices) were measured alongside gene expression profiling using the EcoToxChip platform. Results revealed significant differences in liver and gonad sizes among the sampling sites. Transcriptomic analysis showed differential expression in pathways related to xenobiotic metabolism (e.g., cytochrome P450 1A, glutathione S-transferase C-terminal domain (gstcd), stress response (heat shock protein 70.3, heat shock protein family A member 9 (hspa9)), immune function (T helper 17 cells, T helper 1, and T helper 2 cell differentiation), lipid metabolism (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor signaling), and apoptosis (caspase 9, growth arrest and DNA-damage-inducible protein 45 gamma a). Upstream West Nose Creek exhibited signs of degradation in few water quality parameters, raising concerns about its continued suitability as a minimally impacted reference site. The study highlights the utility of combining molecular new approach methods (NAMs) with traditional health endpoints to assess the sub-lethal effects of urban stormwater and supports the integration of targeted transcriptomics into environmental monitoring frameworks.
{"title":"EcoToxChip reveals immune and metabolic pathway disruption in fish chronically exposed to stormwater-impacted environments","authors":"Fateme Taridashti , Patricija Marjan , Markus Hecker , Kelly R. Munkittrick","doi":"10.1016/j.aquatox.2026.107748","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.aquatox.2026.107748","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Urban stormwater runoff is a growing concern for aquatic ecosystems because it contains complex mixture of nutrients and chemical contaminants. This study assessed molecular and physiological responses in wild fathead minnows (<em>Pimephales promelas</em>) in the stormwater-dominated Nose Creek Watershed, Alberta, Canada. Adult fish were sampled from multiple sites ranging from agriculturally influenced sites to urban-impacted reaches, during the pre-spawning period in May and post-spawn in September 2023. Water quality parameters and fish health endpoints (e.g. condition factor, liversomatic, and gonadosomatic indices) were measured alongside gene expression profiling using the EcoToxChip platform. Results revealed significant differences in liver and gonad sizes among the sampling sites. Transcriptomic analysis showed differential expression in pathways related to xenobiotic metabolism (e.g., cytochrome P450 1A, glutathione S-transferase C-terminal domain (gstcd), stress response (heat shock protein 70.3, heat shock protein family A member 9 (hspa9)), immune function (T helper 17 cells, T helper 1, and T helper 2 cell differentiation), lipid metabolism (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor signaling), and apoptosis (caspase 9, growth arrest and DNA-damage-inducible protein 45 gamma a). Upstream West Nose Creek exhibited signs of degradation in few water quality parameters, raising concerns about its continued suitability as a minimally impacted reference site. The study highlights the utility of combining molecular new approach methods (NAMs) with traditional health endpoints to assess the sub-lethal effects of urban stormwater and supports the integration of targeted transcriptomics into environmental monitoring frameworks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":248,"journal":{"name":"Aquatic Toxicology","volume":"293 ","pages":"Article 107748"},"PeriodicalIF":4.3,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146134425","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-21DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2026.107791
Donald Cheng, Kevin Adi Kurnia, Chung-Der Hsiao
{"title":"Rapid Assessment of Pesticide Toxicity in Aquatic Ecosystems Using Deep Learning-Based Automatic Duckweed Counting Method","authors":"Donald Cheng, Kevin Adi Kurnia, Chung-Der Hsiao","doi":"10.1016/j.aquatox.2026.107791","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2026.107791","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":248,"journal":{"name":"Aquatic Toxicology","volume":"16 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147496100","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-19DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2026.107796
Eldith Adongo, Grace Versnik, Samantha Lyons, Gavin K. Dehnert, Tisha C King-Heiden
{"title":"Embryonic exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of PFAS cause larval fish to be more susceptible to predation","authors":"Eldith Adongo, Grace Versnik, Samantha Lyons, Gavin K. Dehnert, Tisha C King-Heiden","doi":"10.1016/j.aquatox.2026.107796","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2026.107796","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":248,"journal":{"name":"Aquatic Toxicology","volume":"32 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147496101","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Micro-nanoplastics (MNPs) as emerging contaminant significantly affect the structure and function of microbial communities in diverse aquatic ecosystems, yet studies regarding their physiological and metabolic effects on microbes at single-strain level remain relatively limited, representing a critical knowledge gap in assessing their ecological risks. In this case, MNPs with varying types (polyethylene terephthalate, PET; polyvinyl chloride, PVC) and particle-sizes (5.0 μm, 150.0 nm) were subject in our study to evaluate their physiological toxicity and metabolic effects on Bacillus cereus DFH-1. Compared to the MNP-free counterpart, 150.0 nm PET-NP inhibited bacterial growth in early stage, while 5.0 μm PET-MP, 5.0 μm PVC-MP, and 150.0 nm PVC-NP had little effect. Superoxide dismutase activity significantly decreased in all MNP-treated groups (p < 0.05), while catalase activity showed slight and non-significant decrease (p > 0.05). Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that exposure to 150.0 nm PET-NP induced the morphological alteration of bacterial cells, such as deformation and particle adhesion. Furthermore, metabolomic profiling identified 890 differential accumulated metabolites (DAMs) in PET-NP group compared to the control, including 449 up-regulated and 441 down-regulated. Among these DAMs, most related to basic metabolism (e.g., alanine, aspartate, glutamate, and phenylalanine metabolism, tricarboxylic acid cycle) were significantly down-regulated, while tryptophan metabolism-related DAMs were predominantly up-regulated. Collectively, the findings reveal the physiological dysregulation and metabolic disruption of B. cereus DFH-1 when exposed to 150.0 nm PET-NP, providing important scientific guidance for assessing the potential ecological risk of MNPs.
{"title":"Micro-nanoplastics induce the physiological toxicity and metabolic disorder of Bacillus cereus DFH-1","authors":"Shiqi Luo, Xiaoguo Chen, Mengshi Chen, Jiping Wang, Xian Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.aquatox.2026.107794","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2026.107794","url":null,"abstract":"Micro-nanoplastics (MNPs) as emerging contaminant significantly affect the structure and function of microbial communities in diverse aquatic ecosystems, yet studies regarding their physiological and metabolic effects on microbes at single-strain level remain relatively limited, representing a critical knowledge gap in assessing their ecological risks. In this case, MNPs with varying types (polyethylene terephthalate, PET; polyvinyl chloride, PVC) and particle-sizes (5.0 μm, 150.0 nm) were subject in our study to evaluate their physiological toxicity and metabolic effects on <ce:italic>Bacillus cereus</ce:italic> DFH-1. Compared to the MNP-free counterpart, 150.0 nm PET-NP inhibited bacterial growth in early stage, while 5.0 μm PET-MP, 5.0 μm PVC-MP, and 150.0 nm PVC-NP had little effect. Superoxide dismutase activity significantly decreased in all MNP-treated groups (<ce:italic>p</ce:italic> < 0.05), while catalase activity showed slight and non-significant decrease (<ce:italic>p</ce:italic> > 0.05). Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that exposure to 150.0 nm PET-NP induced the morphological alteration of bacterial cells, such as deformation and particle adhesion. Furthermore, metabolomic profiling identified 890 differential accumulated metabolites (DAMs) in PET-NP group compared to the control, including 449 up-regulated and 441 down-regulated. Among these DAMs, most related to basic metabolism (e.g., alanine, aspartate, glutamate, and phenylalanine metabolism, tricarboxylic acid cycle) were significantly down-regulated, while tryptophan metabolism-related DAMs were predominantly up-regulated. Collectively, the findings reveal the physiological dysregulation and metabolic disruption of <ce:italic>B. cereus</ce:italic> DFH-1 when exposed to 150.0 nm PET-NP, providing important scientific guidance for assessing the potential ecological risk of MNPs.","PeriodicalId":248,"journal":{"name":"Aquatic Toxicology","volume":"95 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147465420","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-16DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2026.107793
Yimin Li, Xiaolong Gao, Chunnuan Zhang, Zihao Meng, Mengkang You
Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), widely employed as a flame retardant in electronic products and plastics, has been routinely detected in multiple environmental matrices including aquatic compartments and sediments. The common carp (Cyprinus carpio), an established model organism in toxicological research, was utilized in this investigation. This study aimed to evaluate the hepatotoxic effects of varying TBBPA concentrations through histological and molecular biochemical parameter analysis. Fish were administered TBBPA at concentrations of 0, 0.005, 0.05, and 0.5 mg/L for 14 days. Collectively, this investigation demonstrated that TBBPA exposure elicits multiple pathological alterations in piscine hepatic tissue, encompassing ultrastructural damage, oxidative stress, calcium homeostasis dysregulation, and apoptosis. Histopathological analysis revealed that exposure to 0.005 mg/L TBBPA induced mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticulum swelling. Biochemical analyses demonstrated TBBPA-mediated disruption of hepatic redox homeostasis, consequently triggering lipid peroxidation. Furthermore, TBBPA exposure resulted in hepatic calcium overload, characterized by diminished Ca2+-ATPase activity and elevated intracellular Ca2+ concentrations. Concurrently, TUNEL assay and qRT-PCR results indicated concentration-dependent induction of apoptosis by TBBPA. This study demonstrates hepatotoxic effects induced by environmentally relevant TBBPA concentrations while elucidating potential toxicological mechanisms in the piscine liver. These findings advance the understanding of TBBPA-mediated pathological impacts on the fish liver.
{"title":"Tetrabromobisphenol A exposure compromises antioxidant defense and mitochondrial ultrastructural damage, exacerbating hepatocellular apoptosis in Cyprinus carpio","authors":"Yimin Li, Xiaolong Gao, Chunnuan Zhang, Zihao Meng, Mengkang You","doi":"10.1016/j.aquatox.2026.107793","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2026.107793","url":null,"abstract":"Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), widely employed as a flame retardant in electronic products and plastics, has been routinely detected in multiple environmental matrices including aquatic compartments and sediments. The common carp (<ce:italic>Cyprinus carpio</ce:italic>), an established model organism in toxicological research, was utilized in this investigation. This study aimed to evaluate the hepatotoxic effects of varying TBBPA concentrations through histological and molecular biochemical parameter analysis. Fish were administered TBBPA at concentrations of 0, 0.005, 0.05, and 0.5 mg/L for 14 days. Collectively, this investigation demonstrated that TBBPA exposure elicits multiple pathological alterations in piscine hepatic tissue, encompassing ultrastructural damage, oxidative stress, calcium homeostasis dysregulation, and apoptosis. Histopathological analysis revealed that exposure to 0.005 mg/L TBBPA induced mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticulum swelling. Biochemical analyses demonstrated TBBPA-mediated disruption of hepatic redox homeostasis, consequently triggering lipid peroxidation. Furthermore, TBBPA exposure resulted in hepatic calcium overload, characterized by diminished Ca<ce:sup loc=\"post\">2+</ce:sup>-ATPase activity and elevated intracellular Ca<ce:sup loc=\"post\">2+</ce:sup> concentrations. Concurrently, TUNEL assay and qRT-PCR results indicated concentration-dependent induction of apoptosis by TBBPA. This study demonstrates hepatotoxic effects induced by environmentally relevant TBBPA concentrations while elucidating potential toxicological mechanisms in the piscine liver. These findings advance the understanding of TBBPA-mediated pathological impacts on the fish liver.","PeriodicalId":248,"journal":{"name":"Aquatic Toxicology","volume":"49 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147465423","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The widespread use of magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgO NPs) presents a potential biological effect and toxicity to both aquatic ecosystems and human well-being. However, the potential toxicity of MgO NPs has been barely investigated. In this study, the toxicological evaluation of MgO NPs was systematically determined by using fish Megalobrama amblycephala as a model in both in vivo and in vitro studies. In vivo, fish were exposed to three concentrations of MgO NPs in water (0, 50 and 100 mg/L). In vitro, primary hepatocytes were exposed to three concentrations (0, 16 and 32 mM) of MgO NPs in the medium. Our results demonstrated that MgO NPs impaired Mg homeostasis leading to mitochondrial dysfunction, and triggered apoptosis in both in vivo and in vitro. This was evidenced by the elevated mitochondrial Mg content and Trpm7 and Mrs2 protein expression, a loss of MMP, the impaired activities of mitochondrial complexes IV and V, an upregulation of Cyt-c and caspase 3, and a downregulation of Bcl-2. Overall, MgO NP exposure disrupts the Mg homeostasis, thereby leading to mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis.
{"title":"Exposure to magnesium oxide nanoparticles induces mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis in fish Megalobrama amblycephala by disrupting magnesium homeostasis","authors":"Ling Zhang, Zi-Shang Liu, Si-Si Xiong, Yan-Zou Dong, Yue-Yun Guo, Ding-Dong Zhang, Guang-Zhen Jiang, Wen-Bin Liu, Xiang-Fei Li","doi":"10.1016/j.aquatox.2026.107792","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2026.107792","url":null,"abstract":"The widespread use of magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgO NPs) presents a potential biological effect and toxicity to both aquatic ecosystems and human well-being. However, the potential toxicity of MgO NPs has been barely investigated. In this study, the toxicological evaluation of MgO NPs was systematically determined by using fish <ce:italic>Megalobrama amblycephala</ce:italic> as a model in both in vivo and in vitro studies. In vivo, fish were exposed to three concentrations of MgO NPs in water (0, 50 and 100 mg/L). In vitro, primary hepatocytes were exposed to three concentrations (0, 16 and 32 mM) of MgO NPs in the medium. Our results demonstrated that MgO NPs impaired Mg homeostasis leading to mitochondrial dysfunction, and triggered apoptosis in both in vivo and in vitro. This was evidenced by the elevated mitochondrial Mg content and Trpm7 and Mrs2 protein expression, a loss of MMP, the impaired activities of mitochondrial complexes IV and V, an upregulation of Cyt-c and caspase 3, and a downregulation of Bcl-2. Overall, MgO NP exposure disrupts the Mg homeostasis, thereby leading to mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis.","PeriodicalId":248,"journal":{"name":"Aquatic Toxicology","volume":"118 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147465422","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-07DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2026.107788
Martyna Frątczak, Katarzyna Szkudelska, Marta Grobelna, Adam Hermaniuk, Łukasz Jankowiak, Mikołaj Kaczmarski, Łukasz Myczko, Beata Rozenblut-Kościsty, Piotr Tryjanowski
This study examined the impact of two environmentally widespread endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), bisphenol A (BPA) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), on the marsh frog Pelophylax ridibundus. The analysis focused on somatic condition, gonadal differentiation, and the second-to-fourth digit ratio (DR, 2D:4D), tested as a potential non-invasive biomarker of endocrine disruption. Tadpoles were reared in outdoor mesocosms and exposed weekly to three environmentally-relevant concentrations of BPA (BPA7 - 10⁻⁷, BPA8 - 10⁻⁸, BPA9 - 10⁻⁹ M) and one concentration of EE2 (10⁻⁹ M), acting as a positive control. The exposition was conducted in a static-renewal system. While neither treatment nor sex influenced snout–vent length (SVL) or body weight, Scale Mass Index (SMI) was significantly reduced in the highest concentration BPA group (–0.139 ± 0.036) and in EE2 (–0.173 ± 0.036), indicating impaired somatic condition. EE2 caused a strikingly female-biased sex ratio (≈9:1 F:M), increasing the odds of being female by 5.2-fold, whereas BPA did not affect sex ratios. Histological analyses revealed two intersex and one mixed-sex individuals in the EE2 group. In the number of BPA-exposed males, significant gonadal degeneration and rudimentary metamers were observed, with similar structures found in females, suggesting disturbed gonadal development. Although 2D:4D did not differ between sexes, both EE2 and BPA altered digit ratios in a size-dependent manner, with significant treatment × SVL interactions in hindlimbs (EE2, BPA7) and the left forelimb (EE2), where larger individuals exhibited lower ratios under exposure. These environmentally relevant findings demonstrate that BPA and EE2 profoundly disrupt somatic health, gonadal differentiation and sex-related traits in a non-model amphibian species, with clear implications for wildlife conservation.
{"title":"Impact of bisphenol A and ethinyloestradiol on sex, body condition and digit ratio of the marsh frog Pelophylax ridibundus in the mesocosm exposure system","authors":"Martyna Frątczak, Katarzyna Szkudelska, Marta Grobelna, Adam Hermaniuk, Łukasz Jankowiak, Mikołaj Kaczmarski, Łukasz Myczko, Beata Rozenblut-Kościsty, Piotr Tryjanowski","doi":"10.1016/j.aquatox.2026.107788","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2026.107788","url":null,"abstract":"This study examined the impact of two environmentally widespread endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), bisphenol A (BPA) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), on the marsh frog <ce:italic>Pelophylax ridibundus</ce:italic>. The analysis focused on somatic condition, gonadal differentiation, and the second-to-fourth digit ratio (DR, 2D:4D), tested as a potential non-invasive biomarker of endocrine disruption. Tadpoles were reared in outdoor mesocosms and exposed weekly to three environmentally-relevant concentrations of BPA (BPA7 - 10⁻⁷, BPA8 - 10⁻⁸, BPA9 - 10⁻⁹ M) and one concentration of EE2 (10⁻⁹ M), acting as a positive control. The exposition was conducted in a static-renewal system. While neither treatment nor sex influenced snout–vent length (SVL) or body weight, Scale Mass Index (SMI) was significantly reduced in the highest concentration BPA group (–0.139 ± 0.036) and in EE2 (–0.173 ± 0.036), indicating impaired somatic condition. EE2 caused a strikingly female-biased sex ratio (≈9:1 F:M), increasing the odds of being female by 5.2-fold, whereas BPA did not affect sex ratios. Histological analyses revealed two intersex and one mixed-sex individuals in the EE2 group. In the number of BPA-exposed males, significant gonadal degeneration and rudimentary metamers were observed, with similar structures found in females, suggesting disturbed gonadal development. Although 2D:4D did not differ between sexes, both EE2 and BPA altered digit ratios in a size-dependent manner, with significant treatment × SVL interactions in hindlimbs (EE2, BPA7) and the left forelimb (EE2), where larger individuals exhibited lower ratios under exposure. These environmentally relevant findings demonstrate that BPA and EE2 profoundly disrupt somatic health, gonadal differentiation and sex-related traits in a non-model amphibian species, with clear implications for wildlife conservation.","PeriodicalId":248,"journal":{"name":"Aquatic Toxicology","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147392642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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