A three-generational study of In ovo exposure to PBDE-99 in the zebra finch
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| Authors: | Winter, V; Williams, TD; Elliott, JE |
| Year: | 2013 |
| Journal: | Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 32: 562-568 Article Link (DOI) |
| Title: | A three-generational study of In ovo exposure to PBDE-99 in the zebra finch |
| Abstract: | Based on a literature review of avian data for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), ecologically relevant doses, low (10ng/egg), medium (100ng/egg), and high (1,000ng/egg) of the 2,2,4,4,5-pentabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-99) congener along with dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) control were injected into the yolk sac of un-incubated eggs of zebra finch, Taeniopygia guttata. Offspring development and adult phenotype were followed over three generations. No effects of in ovo PBDE exposure on hatching success, chick growth, thyroid hormone levels, or hematological traits were measured at sexual maturity (90d posthatching). However, the authors did detect significant effects of BDE-99 treatment on adult phenotype of in ovoexposed birds by breeding observations, in which clutch size was significantly smaller in all PBDE-dosed birds (low, medium, and high) compared with controls. A trend was also seen for longer laying intervals in PBDE-dosed birds (1314d) compared with control birds (8d). In addition, a significant effect of PBDE was found on growth of the second-generation offspring of in ovotreated females; body mass was significantly lower in the high-PBDE dosed birds compared with controls from hatch through to fledging (day 30). The authors found no evidence of effects over the longer term and in successive generations, whether in adult, reproductive phenotype of the second-generation offspring of in ovotreated birds, or in the growth of their (third-generation) offspring. Their results suggest that egg levels as low as 10ng/g BDE-99 may affect reproduction in small passerines by reducing clutch size. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2013;32:562568. (c) 2012 SETAC |
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