title: Embryotoxicity and genotoxicity evaluation of sediments from Yangtze River estuary using zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos.
abstract: Sediments function both as a sink and a source of pollutants in aquatic ecosystems and may impose serious effects on benthic organisms and human health. As one of the largest estuaries in the world, the Yangtze River estuary suffers from abundant wastewater from the coastal cities. In this study, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos were employed in the fish embryo test and a comet assay to evaluate the embryotoxicity and genotoxicity of the sediments from the Yangtze River estuary, respectively. Results showed that the sediments from the Yangtze River estuary significantly increased mortality, induced development abnormalities, and reduced hatching rate and heart rate of zebrafish embryos after 96 h of exposure. Significant genotoxicity was observed in the samples relative to the controls. Relatively low-level embryotoxicity and genotoxicity of sediments were found in the Yangtze River compared with other river systems. Toxic responses were also discussed in relation to the analyzed organic contaminants in sediments. More attention should be paid to non-priority pollutant monitoring in the Yangtze River estuary.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China. wulingling@tongji.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Lingling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002681:China; D020552:Comet Assay; D004249:DNA Damage; D017753:Ecosystem; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000187:drug effects*; D047108:Embryonic Development / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D063366:Estuaries; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology
chemical_list: D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Embryotoxicity; Genotoxicity; Sediments; Yangtze River estuary; Zebrafish embryos