Open this publication in new window or tab >>2015 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]
The synthetic estrogen 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) is an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) of concern due to its persistent nature and widespread presence in the aquatic environment. In mammals, effects of developmental EDC exposure on reproduction and behavior not only persist to adulthood after discontinued exposure, but are also inherited by several consecutive unexposed generations. The results presented in this thesis demonstrate that non-reproductive behavior in fish is highly sensitive to the influence of EE2 during development and the effects do not appear to be restored after a long recovery period in clean water. We have shown that exposure to low doses of EE2 during development results in increased anxiety in two fish species (zebrafish and guppy) and their offspring. We have also demonstrated that the effects of EE2 on anxiety are apparent in both sexes and are transgenerationally transmitted to two consecutive generations of unexposed offspring in the guppy. In order to investigate the possible biological mechanisms of the observed persistent effects on non-reproductive behavior, we also performed an RNA sequencing analysis of the whole-brain transcriptome in developmentally exposed zebrafish after remediation in clean water until adulthood. Differential expression of 33 genes in males and 62 genes in females were observed as a result of EE2 exposure, with only one gene affected in both sexes. Functional analysis revealed cholesterol biosynthesis and circadian rhythm to be the top two affected pathways in males and females, respectively. Both pathways have previously been implicated in anxiety behavior and represent possible candidates connecting the transcriptome alterations to the observed behavioral phenotype. The study represents an initial survey of the fish brain transcriptome by means of RNA sequencing after long-term recovery from developmental exposure to an estrogenic compound.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Örebro: Örebro university, 2015. p. 62
Series
Örebro Studies in Biology, ISSN 1650-8793 ; 9Södertörn doctoral dissertations, ISSN 1652-7399 ; 110
Keywords
Endocrine disruptors, anxiety, stress behavior, transgenerational effects, 17α-ethinylestradiol, developmental exposure, social behavior, fish
National Category
Biological Sciences
Research subject
Biology
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-28426 (URN)978-91-7529-091-1 (ISBN)
Public defence
2015-10-05, Hörsalen, Musikhögskolan, Örebro, 13:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
2015-10-012015-10-012015-10-01Bibliographically approved