Diafenthiuron causes developmental toxicity in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Diafenthiuron, a broad-spectrum insecticide and acaricide used for agricultural crop protection, is highly toxic to nontarget organisms. However, the developmental toxicity of diafenthiuron and its underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the developmental toxicity of dia-fenthiuron in zebrafish. Zebrafish embryos were exposed to diafenthiuron at different concentrations (0.01, 0.1, and 1 mu M) from 3 to 120 h post fertilization (hpf). Diafenthiuron exposure significantly shortened the body lengths of zebrafish larvae and significantly decreased superoxide dismutase activity. It also downregulated the spatiotemporal expression of pomc and prl, marker genes involved in pituitary development. Moreover, dia-fenthiuron exposure downregulated the spatiotemporal expression of liver-specific marker, fabp10a, and inhibited the development of the liver, a detoxification organ. In conclusion, our data provide evidence of the developmental toxicity and hepatotoxicity of diafenthiuron in aquatic organisms, and they are instrumental for further environmental risk assessment of diafenthiuron in aquatic ecosystems.

Automated summary

The developmental toxicity and hepatotoxicity of diafenthiuron in zebrafish were investigated in this study. Results showed that diafenthiuron exposure significantly shortened the body lengths of zebrafish larvae and decreased superoxide dismutase activity. It also downregulated the spatiotemporal expression of pituitary development marker genes and liver-specific marker genes. These findings provide evidence of the detrimental effects of diafenthiuron on aquatic organisms and are important for environmental risk assessment.