Impact of a short-term diazinon exposure on the osmoregulation potentiality of Caspian roach (Rutilus rutilus) fingerlings

Abstract

The stocks of Caspian roach (Rutilus rutilus), an economically important species in the Caspian Sea, are depleting. Each year millions of artificially produced fingerlings of this species are restocked in the mouth of rivers of the Southern Caspian Sea (e.g. Qare Soo River), where they are exposed to pesticides originating from regional rice and orchard fields. This early exposure to pesticides could affect the hypo-osmoregulatory ability of juvenile fish. Thus, in this study, Caspian roach fingerlings were exposed to environmentally-relevant concentrations of the organophosphate insecticide diazinon for 96h in fresh water and then transferred to diazinon-free brackish water (BW) for another 96h. We report that cortisol and glucose levels were significantly increased in all diazinon treatments at all sampling time points in comparison to the control group. Moreover, the thyroid hormone levels of TSH, T4, and T3 significantly decreased in diazinon-exposed fish even after the transfer to BW. The electrolytes were differentially affected during the exposure to diazinon and after the transfer to BW. The number of chloride cells in the gill tissue was significantly increased during diazinon exposure at the higher concentrations and decreased to control levels after transfer to BW. Finally, gill and kidney tissues showed many histopathological changes in diazinon-exposed fish even after 240h in BW. These results suggest that the release of Caspian roach fingerlings into the diazinon-contaminated Caspian Sea regions may alter their physiology and jeopardize their survival, which could lead to a failure in rebuilding the Caspian roach stocks in the Caspian Sea.