Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Embryo–Larvae as a Biosensor for Water Quality Assessment

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play a key role in the protection of the environment and public health by reducing the levels of pollutants released into the water. Here, we evaluate the quality of water obtained from two key points of the treatment process of a municipal WWTP (León, Spain) using zebrafish (<i>Danio rerio</i>) embryos and larvae as sentinels. Three experimental groups were established: (1) "Control" (CTRL) maintained in embryo medium, (2) "Influent" (I) exposed to influent water before the secondary (biological) treatment (concentrations: I-100% and I-75%), and (3) "Effluent" (E) exposed to effluent water from the secondary treatment (concentrations: E-100% and E-75%). Our results confirmed that survival was subtly affected in I-100% and E-100%, as well as the hatching rate in the effluent. Larvae exposed to both experimental conditions also presented a higher rate of malformations, affecting biometry and showing reduced embryo motility, with the exception of E-75%. The I-100% condition also caused reduced heartbeat, reduced fin regeneration, and a higher number of delocalized primordial germ cells. I-100%-exposed larvae showed dysregulation of four genes (<i>foxm1l</i>, <i>cenpf3b</i>, <i>hoxc6a</i>, and <i>ddit3</i>) out of the 19 studied. Effluent dilution mitigated the observed effects, and the model proved to be an effective additional test for wastewater treatment plants.