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Nervous system disruption and concomitant behavioral abnormality in early hatched pufferfish larvae exposed to heavy oil

  • 15th International Symposium on Toxicity Assessment
  • Published:
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Abstract

Background and objective

Spills of heavy oil (HO) over the oceans have been proven to have an adverse effect on marine life. It has been hypothesized that exposure of early larvae of sinking eggs to HO leads largely to normal morphology, whereas abnormal organization of the developing neural scaffold is likely to be found. HO-induced disruption of the nervous system, which controls animal behavior, may in turn cause abnormalities in the swimming behavior of hatched larvae. To clarify the toxicological effects of HO, we performed exposure experiments and morphological and behavioral analyses in pufferfish (Takifugu rubripes) larvae.

Experimental procedure

Fertilized eggs of pufferfish were exposed to 50 mg/L of HO for 8 days and transferred to fresh seawater before hatching. The hatched larvae were observed for their swimming behavior, morphological appearance, and construction of muscles and nervous system.

Results and discussion

In HO-exposed larvae, we did not detect any anomaly of body morphology. However, they showed an abnormal swimming pattern and disorganized midbrain, a higher center controlling movement. Our results suggest that HO-exposed fishes suffer developmental disorder of the brain that triggers an abnormal swimming behavior and that HO may be selectively toxic to the brain and cause physical disability throughout the life span of these fishes.

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Abbreviations

HO:

Heavy oil

n hpf:

n hours post-fertilization

n dph:

n days post-hatching

PFA:

Paraformaldehyde

PBS:

Phosphate-buffered saline

OT:

Optic tectum

MHB:

Midbrain–hindbrain boundary

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully thank Dr. A. Subramanian for critical reading of the manuscript. We also thank Ms. Midori Iida for her comments on the manuscript. This research was supported by the “Global Center of Excellence (G-COE) Program” from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Marine Environmental Studies (CMES), Ehime University, 2-5 Bunkyo-cho, Matsuyama, 790-8577, Japan

    Masahumi Kawaguchi, Shin-Ichi Kitamura & Kei Nakayama

  2. Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Ehime University, 2-5 Bunkyo-cho, Matsuyama, 790-8577, Japan

    Masahumi Kawaguchi, Yuki Sugahara, Tomoe Watanabe, Kouta Irie, Shin-Ichi Kitamura, Hiromi Takata & Yasunori Murakami

  3. Fisheries Research Center, Ehime Research Institute of Cultivation Resources, Ehime Research Institute of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 121-3 Mori, Iyo, 799-3125, Japan

    Minoru Ishida

  4. Misaki Marine Biological Station, The University of Tokyo, 1024 Koajiro, Misaki-cho, Miura, 238-0225, Japan

    Daisuke Kurokawa

  5. The Futurability Initiatives, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, 457-4 Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto, 603-8047, Japan

    Itsuki C. Handoh

Authors
  1. Masahumi Kawaguchi
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  2. Yuki Sugahara
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  3. Tomoe Watanabe
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  4. Kouta Irie
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  5. Minoru Ishida
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  6. Daisuke Kurokawa
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  7. Shin-Ichi Kitamura
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  8. Hiromi Takata
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  9. Itsuki C. Handoh
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  10. Kei Nakayama
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  11. Yasunori Murakami
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Masahumi Kawaguchi.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Masahumi Kawaguchi and Yuki Sugahara equally contributed to this work.

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Kawaguchi, M., Sugahara, Y., Watanabe, T. et al. Nervous system disruption and concomitant behavioral abnormality in early hatched pufferfish larvae exposed to heavy oil. Environ Sci Pollut Res 19, 2488–2497 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-0833-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-0833-0

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