The aim of this study was to assess endocrine disruptive effects in wild population of fish in five French rivers selected to represent different pollution contexts at two seasons (summer and fall). For that purpose, a panel of biometrical parameters (length, weight, and gonado-somatic index: GSI) and biochemical (ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase: EROD, vitellogenin: VTG, and brain aromatase) and histological biomarkers (gonads histology) were used in chub (Leuciscus cephalus), a common cyprinid fish species. In fish from the reference site, EROD activity and VTG levels were low at the two seasons. Brain aromatase activities (AAs) were similar to other species and increased with increasing GSI and gonad maturation. Among the four contaminated sites, the Jalle d'Eysines River was the most impacted site. At this site, fish were exposed to estrogenic substances as demonstrated by the VTG induction in males and the arrest of development of the gonads that led to lower brain AA compared to fish from the reference site. In fish from other contaminated sites, EROD activity was induced as compared to fish from the reference site and some males had elevated concentrations of VTG. Moreover, the presence of aromatase-inhibiting compounds was demonstrated in the sediments of three contaminated sites, even if the precise nature of contaminants is not known. This study provides new data concerning endocrine disruption in wild fish populations inhabiting French rivers and demonstrates that measurements of in vivo and in vitro aromatase could be used as biomarkers of endocrine disruption in field studies.
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