Aerobic metabolism and cardiac activity in the descendants of zebrafish exposed to pyrolytic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Abstract

The increase of anthropogenic activities on coastal areas induces discharges of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in aquatic ecosystem. PAH effects depend not only on their concentration and the way of contamination but also on the different developmental stages of the organism. Zebrafish were exposed to relevant concentration of pyrolytic PAHs from the first meal (i.e., 5-day post fertilization, dpf) to mature adults. Parental effect of this type of exposure was evaluated through the assessment of aerobic metabolic scope, cardiac frequency, and cardiac mRNA expression on larval and/or embryo progeny of contaminated fish. Our results suggest that cardiac frequency increased in larval descendants of fish exposed to the environmental concentration of pyrolytic PAHs (i.e., 5 ng.g(-1) of food), while a lack of effect on aerobic metabolism in 5 dpf larvae was highlighted. A surexpression of mRNA related to the cardiac calcium transporting ATPase atp2a2a, a protein essential for contraction, is in accordance with this increasing cardiac frequency. Even if cardiac development genes cmlc1 and tnnt2a were not affected at early life stages tested, complementary work on cardiac structure could be interesting to better understand PAHs action.