Enantioselectivity in Developmental Toxicity of rac‐metalaxyl and R‐metalaxyl in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Embryo

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Abstract
Enantioselectivity of chiral pesticides in environmental safety has attracted more and more attention. In this study, we evaluated the enantioselective toxicity of rac‐metalaxyl and R‐metalaxyl to zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos through various malformations including pericardial edema, yolk sac edema, crooked body, and short tails. The results showed that there were significant differences in toxicity to zebrafish embryos caused by rac‐metalaxyl and R‐metalaxyl, and the LC50s at 96 h are 416.41 (353.91, 499.29) mg · L‐1 and 320.650 (279.80, 363.46) mg · L‐1, respectively. In order to explore the possible mechanism of the development defects, the genes involved in the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis (vtg1, vtg2, cyp17, cyp19a, cyp19b) and hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid axis (dio1, dio2, nis, tg, tpo) were quantified by quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR). The results revealed that there were no significant differences in the expression of vtg1, vtg2, cyp17, cyp19a, and cyp19b after exposure to rac‐metalaxyl. However, the expression of vtg1, cyp19a, and cyp19b decreased significantly after exposure to R‐metalaxyl. And likewise, rac‐metalaxyl only caused the upregulation of dio2, while R‐metalaxyl suppressed the expression of dio1 and tpo and induced the expression of dio2 and nis. The change of gene expression may cause the enantioselectivity in developmental toxicity in zebrafish embryo. The data provided here will be helpful for us to comprehensively understand the potential ecological risks of the currently used chiral fungicides. Chirality 28:489–494, 2016.

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