Background: Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) is an environmental endocrine disruptor detected in water, soil, and other environmental media frequently. Growing concerns regarding DBP exposure focus on toxicity to male reproduction. Reports about the developmental toxicity of paternal DBP exposure are rare. In this study, we investigated the developmental toxicity of paternal exposure to DBP on offspring in zebrafish.
Methods: Adult male zebrafish with normal reproductive function were exposed to 0.2, 0.6, 1.8 mg/L of DBP or acetone solvent control for 30 days, and then mated with females. Thirty embryos per group were randomly selected to be observed, and malformations were recorded and photographed. The mating and observations were repeated three times, for a total of 90 embryos per group.
Results: The results showed that the percentage of malformations, such as edema and a bent trunk, was increased in the 0.6 and 1.8 mg/L DBP exposure groups, the heart rate and spontaneous contraction decreased in the 0.6 and 1.8 mg/L DBP exposure groups and migration of primordial germ cells was disrupted in some F1 embryos in all DBP exposure group after paternal exposure. The axial skeleton was affected in some F1 adults in the 1.8 mg/L DBP exposure group.
Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate the developmental toxicity of paternal DBP exposure in zebrafish.
Keywords: developmental toxicity; dibutyl phthalate; paternal exposure; primordial germ cell; zebrafish.
© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC.