| Vitellogenin Induction and Reduced Serum Testosterone Concentrations in Feral Male Carp (Cyprinus carpio) Captured Near a Major Metropolitan Sewage Treatment Plant
Leroy C. Folmar,1 Nancy D. Denslow,2 Vijayasri Rao,2 Marjorie Chow,2 D. Andrew Crain,3 Jack Enblom,4 Joseph Marcino,4 and Louis J. Guillette Jr.3,5
1U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561 USA; 2Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; and 3Department of Zoology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610 USA; 4Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, MN 55155 USA; 5Center for Bioenvironmental Research, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112 USA.
Abstract
Endocrine disrupting chemicals can potentially alter the reproductive physiology of fishes. To test this hypothesis, serum was collected from common carp (Cyprinus carpio) at five riverine locations in Minnesota. Male fish collected from an effluent channel below the St. Paul metropolitan sewage treatment plant had significantly elevated serum egg protein (vitellogenin) concentrations and significantly decreased serum testosterone concentrations compared to male carp collected from the St. Croix River, classified as a National Wild and Scenic River. Carp collected from the Minnesota River, which receives significant agricultural runoff, also exhibited depressed serum testosterone concentrations, but no serum vitellogenin was apparent. These data suggest that North American rivers are receiving estrogenic chemicals that are biologically active, as has been reported in Great Britain. Key words: estradiol, fish, sewage effluent, testosterone, vitellogenin. Environ Health Perspect 104:1096-1101 (1996)
Address correspondence to L. C. Folmar, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1 Sabine Island Drive, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561 USA. The authors wish to thank the following individuals for their assistance in sample collection and preparation: Ranjit Bhagyam, Michael Feist, Bonnie Mallory, Ken Mueller, and Dan Orr (Northern States Power Company) . This work was funded in part by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Cooperative Agreement (CR821437) to L.J.G. and N.D.D., grants to L.J.G. (PR471437) and N.D.D. (E507375) from the NIEHS, grants to L.J.G. from the EPA (R824760-01-0) and the Alton Jones Foundation, and an EPA graduate fellowship to DAC (U-914738-01-0) . Mention of trade names does not constitute government endorsement. Received 20 February 1996 ; accepted 20 June 1996.
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