The Effects of Vinclozolin, an Anti-Androgenic Fungicide, on Male Guppy Secondary Sex Characters and Reproductive Success1

Abstract

Despite the enormous volume of research concerning the various effects of chemicals with endocrine-disrupting properties in fish, there is still very little evidence that endocrine disruption can adversely affect individual fertility and, hence, pose problems for the population. In the present study, guppies (Poecilia reticulata) were fed with the anti-androgenic fungicide vinclozolin at concentrations ranging from 1.8 to 180 mg/kg from 8-14 wk of age. Male sperm count and the intensity of his sexual display behavior were significantly reduced in treatment groups, which was in line with the results of previous studies. Here, we show further that these impairments translate into reduced fertility, measured as the size of the female's first clutch. Also, this reduced fertility was correlated to the male sperm count, but not to the intensity of the male sexual display. Finally, by crossing exposed with unexposed animals, we show that the adverse effect of vinclozolin on reproduction is mediated through the male alone.

Development of partial life-cycle experiments to assess the effects of endocrine disruptors on the freshwater gastropod Lymnaea stagnalis: a case-study with vinclozolin

“…Yet, such a stimulation of egg production was not observed at higher concentrations in our study, as confirmed by previous studies on adults we conducted under similar exposure conditions (Lagadic et al 2005). These results reinforce the hypothesis that VZ probably induces changes in the male function of exposed snails, as demonstrated in fish (e.g., Baatrup and Junge 2001;Bayley et al 2003;Kiparissis et al 2003) and rat (e.g., Gray et al 1999;Kubota et al 2003), the observed changes depending on exposure concentration. Full life-cycle (FLC) and PLC experiments did not lead to similar conclusions for close values of VZ concentration (i.e.…”

Review: <i>Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) as endocrine disrupting contaminants (EDCs) in South African surface waters</i>

“…For example, the dithiocarbamate fungicide mancozeb is shown to cause thyroid-modulating effects, but it is rather its metabolite, ethylene thiourea (ETU) which exerts this thyroid-modulating, and possible carcinogenic, activity (USEPA, 2005;Opitz et al, 2006). The dicarboximide fungicide vinclozolin is also shown to be an anti-androgenic EDC, but it is rather its metabolites that have the greater half-lives and mobility in water necessary to cause endocrine-disrupting effects (Bayley et al, 2003). Furthermore, metabolites from parental EDCs may modulate other endocrine system pathways as well, such as the organochloride insecticide DDT, which is a known oestogenic EDC, but its metabolite p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p'-DDE) is shown to rather have antiandrogenic activity (Mills et al, 2001).…”

Screening of multiple hormonal activities in surface water and sediment from the Pearl River system, South China, using effect‐directed in vitro bioassays

“…Some polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their metabolites have shown antiestrogenic activities in river sediment [21]. The fungicide vinclozolin exhibits antiandrogenic activity in rats [22], and some pesticides (e.g., p,p 0 -1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis[pchorophenyl]ethylene [p,p 0 -DDE] and linuron) also show antiandrogenic activities [18]. Furthermore, some pollutants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, in the environment can act as both agonist and antagonist of estrogen or androgen receptors [15,23].…”