Effects and Mechanisms of Dufulin Toxicity on Zebrafish, Danio rerio

Pesticide pollution has become a major global issue, primarily because of its ability to induce widespread toxicity. This research aimed to explore the toxicological effects of Dufulin on zebrafish, focusing on the underlying molecular mechanisms of these effects from biochemical and transcriptomic perspectives. Residual Dufulin has been confirmed to occur in ecosystems, with its half-life significantly affected by environmental conditions. Its low water solubility may lead to its accumulation in sediments, thereby posing a potential threat to aquatic ecosystems, which necessitates urgent targeted research. The findings of this study indicate that Dufulin has concentration-dependent effects on zebrafish; 0.01 mg/L Dufulin triggered a non-specific immune response and enhanced the antioxidant defense system in zebrafish, resulting in oxidative stress or apoptosis and influencing the cell cycle, while 0.10 mg/L Dufulin mainly affected normal meiosis of zebrafish cells and 1.00 mg/L Dufulin produced cytotoxicity and affected the normal metabolic process of zebrafish. These findings reveal the multi-level toxic mechanism of Dufulin on aquatic organisms from the biochemical and transcriptome levels and provide an important basis for its ecological and environmental risk assessment.