Impact of a Major Water Pollutant, Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs), on Aquatic Organisms with Special Emphasis in Fish Reproduction
摘要
Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are naturally occurring or synthetic substances which affect living organisms by altering the natural pattern of hormone synthesis by the endocrine glands and various biological functions at environmentally relevant concentrations. EDCs are nowadays regarded as an ever-emerging major water pollutant which possesses a significant threat to aquatic life. At present, a lot of researches are going on about the impact of EDCs on human health but very few focused on the effects on physiological functions including reproduction of aquatic organisms especially in fish. Fish are affected on a large scale by increasing the degree of water contamination by EDCs from different sources like pharmaceuticals, personal care products, organic pollutants, and heavy metalsHeavy metals. Chronic exposure to EDCs causes adverse affects on aquatic ecosystems even at their low concentrations in water bodies. The deleterious effects of EDCs on fish reproduction vary greatly depending on the “period and duration” of exposure. Various types of EDCs affect the growth and development of gonads, gametogenesis, and steroidogenesis in both male and female aquatic organisms. EDCs are categorized into xenoestrogens and xenoandrogens which cause endocrine dysfunction related to changes in fertility and the sex ratio of fish. It acts by mimicking or antagonizing the endogenously synthesized hormones. It results into feminization and musculinization of male and female fish respectively which impose a greater threat for fish culture and reduce the yield of fishery industry. In the present chapter, we tried to provide a link between endocrine disruption by a water pollutant, EDCs, and the impairment of fish reproduction on the basis of recent works which will help future research on aquaculture.