The Use of the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to Evaluate the Adverse Effects of Epoxiconazole Exposure on Spermatogenesis.

Yunhui Li,Pan Chen,Rongrong Lv,Lihong Yin,Geyu Liang,Minhui Zhang,Shaojun Li,Ran Liu

doi:10.3390/ijerph13100993

Abstract

There is increasing evidence that epoxiconazole exposure can affect reproductive function, but few studies have investigated adverse effects on spermatogenesis. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) was used in our study to assess effects of epoxiconazole on spermatogenesis in male nematodes after 48 h of exposure to concentrations of 0.1, 1.0, or 10.0 μg/L. The results demonstrated that epoxiconazole exposure affected spermatogenesis, decreasing the number of total germ cells, mitotic cells, meiotic cells and spermatids, spermatid diameter, and cross-sectional area, and inducing mitotic germ cell proliferation arrest, premature entry into meiosis, and sperm activation inhibition; however, sperm transfer showed no abnormal changes. In addition, the results showed that epoxiconazole activated the transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) signaling pathway and increased the expression levels of gene daf-1, daf-3, daf-4, daf-5 and daf-7 in nematodes. We therefore propose that epoxiconazole acts by activating the TGFβ signaling pathway, leading to the impairment of spermatogenesis and the consequent decline in male fertility.

Highlights

Triazole fungicides are the most efficient class of pesticides and have been in rapid development since the 1970s, receiving worldwide recognition
0.05 vs. the group.of male outcross progeny in Second, to analyze possible reasons thecontrol reduction him-5, we investigated effects of epoxiconazole exposure on total germ cells
The results indicated that epoxiconazole induces premature

Summary

Introduction

Triazole fungicides are the most efficient class of pesticides and have been in rapid development since the 1970s, receiving worldwide recognition. Epoxiconazole (CAS-No 133855-98-8) is a commonly used member of the triazole class of plant protection products, and its environmental residue in water has been detected at concentrations up to 7.7 μg/L [1]. Previous studies have suggested that epoxiconazole is associated with renal diabetes, cardiovascular disease [2,3], and an increased risk of development toxicity [4,5]. Epoxiconazole may damage the seminiferous tubule causing a decrease in the number of spermatocytes, spermatogonia, and spermatids [9]. It is suggested that epoxiconazole can affect the activity of the genes sterol

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