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(18-72) Vitellogenesis: A quantitative biomarker for endocrine disruption in wild living fish? Nikutowski, Nadja*,1, Hennies, Mark2, Schaat, Annette1, Stahlschmidt-Allner, Petra1, Allner, Bernhard1, 1 Hessian Agency for the Environment and Geology, Wiesbaden, Germany2 Institute for Anatomy, Physiology & Hygiene, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany ABSTRACT- In course of a five year monitoring study vitellogenesis of perch and roach originating from limnic habitats of Hessen (Germany) have been investigated at different times of the reproductive cycle. Aprotinin stabilised serum proteins were separated by SDS-PAGE. Antisera to highly purified vitellogenin of carp (Cyprinus caprio) and perch (Perca fluviatilis) have been used for immunological identification of the vitellogenin of roach and perch in Western blot. Immunohistological techniques were applied to identify vitellogenin producing cells in liver tissues and to study structural changes in oocytes related to the uptake of vitellogenin. These experiments provided evidence for the occurrence of vitellogenin breakdown products already present in blood serum especially of perch. Physiological vitellogenin synthesis in female roach represents a continuous process which is related to gonadal growth. In female perch vitellogenin is detectable only during the latest stages of oocyte development. Paradoxical vitellogenesis was detectable in male roach originating from small tributaries of the river Rhine containing a high amount of sewage treatment plant effluents as well as in roach caught in river Rhine harbours. Male perch of the same habitats showed no signs of such an paradoxical vitellogenin induction. These results are demonstrating the differential suitability of vitellogenin as a quantitative biomarker for endocrine disruption in perciform and cyprinid fish. Key words: fish monitoring, gonadogenesis, vitellogenesis, endocrine disrupters |
