Enantioselective bioaccumulation following exposure of adult zebrafish ( Danio rerio ) to epoxiconazole and its effects on metabolomic profile as well as genes expression

Although epoxiconazole is the worldwidely used fungicide, limited information is known about its toxic effects and bioaccumulation behavior in freshwater ecosystems. In this study, zebrafish were exposed to epoxiconazole at concentrations of 100 and 1000 μg L−1 for 21 d. 1H NMR-based metabolomics analysis showed that low- and high-dose epoxiconazole exposure resulted in two similar but not identical patterns for the change of endogenous metabolites related to energy, lipid and amino acid metabolism. The expression of genes associated with mitochondrial respiratory chain, ATP synthesis and fatty acid β-oxidation were further measured to explore the reason for the disturbed energy metabolism, finding epoxiconazole had an inhibition effect on the genes expression of the above ways. Significant enantioselectivity was observed with (+)-epoxiconazole enrichment in the bioaccumulation process. These results will be of great importance in understanding the toxic effects induced by epoxiconazole and provide important basis for its comprehensive environmental assessment.