Abstract
Derived from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), oxygenated-PAHs (oxy-PAHs) may pose hazards to aquatic organisms, which remain largely unknown. Takifugu obscurus is an important anadromous fish species of high economic and ecological values. In the present study, T. obscurus was acutely exposed to 44.29 µg l−1 9,10-phenanthrenequione (9,10-PQ) for 96 h. Changes of antioxidant indices and metabolite profiles in plasma were compared between 9,10-PQ treatment and the control. The results showed that 9,10-PQ treatment significantly increased malondialdehyde (MDA) content during 6 to 96 h, increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities at 6 h, but decreased them at 96 h. These results indicated that 9,10-PQ induced oxidative stress to fish. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) analysis revealed that four metabolic pathways were influenced in response to treatment with 9,10-PQ, including glycerophospholipid metabolism, phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, purine metabolism and sulfur metabolism. These pathways are associated with antioxidant mechanisms, biosynthesis of neurotransmitters and innate immune functions. Thus, the as-obtained results confirmed that 9,10-PQ induced oxidative stress and raised concerns of neurotoxicity and immunotoxicity to fish. Overall, the present study posed a high environmental risk of oxy-PAHs to aquatic ecosystems.
Highlights
Derived from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), oxygenated-PAHs may pose hazards to aquatic organisms, which remain largely unknown
Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) analysis revealed that four metabolic pathways were influenced in response to treatment with 9,10-PQ, including glycerophospholipid metabolism, phenylalanine, tyrosine and tryptophan biosynthesis, purine metabolism and sulfur metabolism
As an anadromous fish species, T. obscurus may swim across various freshwater and seawater environments, exhibiting a high risk of being exposed to PAHs [14], since PAHs have been broadly detected in aquatic environments
Summary
Derived from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), oxygenated-PAHs (oxy-PAHs) may pose hazards to aquatic organisms, which remain largely unknown. The results showed that 9,10PQ treatment significantly increased malondialdehyde (MDA) content during 6 to 96 h, increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities at 6 h, but decreased them at 96 h These results indicated that 9,10-PQ induced oxidative stress to fish. During the oil spill of the Deepwater Horizon accident, severe PAH pollution was observed and the concentration of total PAHs reached 151 mg l−1 [6] Such high levels of PAHs would undoubtedly affect aquatic organisms. Treatments with 100 μg l−1 phenanthrene, 100 μg l−1 3-methyl phenanthrene and 12.5 μg l−1 9,10-phenanthrenequinone significantly elevated malondialdehyde (MDA) contents These results preliminarily revealed that PAHs induced significant oxidative stress to T. obscurus. Activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and content of MDA are traditional oxidative/antioxidant indices to evaluate harmful effects of xenobiotics on organisms [16,17]. Metabolomics analyses might be useful to explore influences of oxy-PAHs on fish at the metabolic level
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