Click here to close
Hello! We notice that you are using Internet Explorer, which is not supported by Xenbase and may cause the site to display incorrectly.
We suggest using a current version of Chrome,
FireFox, or Safari.
???displayArticle.abstract???
Naphthenic acids (NAs), the carboxylic acids found in petroleum, are of emerging concern as they contaminate coastlines after oil spills, leech into freshwater ecosystems of oil sands areas and have wide industrial applications. They are acutely toxic in fish and tadpoles and may be endocrine disruptors at sublethal levels. We characterized androgen-dependent courtship behaviours and their disruption by NAs in male Western clawed frogs, Silurana tropicalis. Courtship primarily consists of males producing low trills and achieving amplexus, a mating position where a male clasps a female. Adult males were exposed for 5 days to 20 mg/l NA and injected with human chorionic gonadotropin to induce calling. The duration of calling activity was significantly reduced by NA exposure. Other acoustic parameters such as dominant frequency, click rate and trill length were not affected. Vocalization and amplexus were both inhibited after NA exposure and restored after 2 weeks of recovery in clean water. To determine possible disruption at the level of the testes, the effects of NA exposure on gene expression of key players in steroidogenesis was determined. Exposure to NAs decreased srd5a on average by ~ 25%. The enzyme 5α-reductase, encoded by srd5a, converts testosterone to its more bioactive form 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), so NAs may be affecting this steroidogenic step. However, the observed upregulation of lhr, star and cyp17a1 suggests that NA-exposed males may be attempting to counteract the reduced potential to produce DHT. Yet, these NA-exposed frogs have dramatically reduced calling duration, so the observed upregulation of star and cyp17a1 is decoupled from the vocalizations. Calling duration and the ability of males to amplex females is reversibly disrupted by NA exposure, implying that environmental reduction and removal of NAs may help improve habitability of contaminated ecosystems.
Bartlett,
Toxicity of naphthenic acids to invertebrates: Extracts from oil sands process-affected water versus commercial mixtures.
2017, Pubmed
Bartlett,
Toxicity of naphthenic acids to invertebrates: Extracts from oil sands process-affected water versus commercial mixtures.
2017,
Pubmed
Bauer,
A preparative method for the isolation and fractionation of dissolved organic acids from bitumen-influenced waters.
2019,
Pubmed
Bauer,
Enhanced characterization of oil sands acid-extractable organics fractions using electrospray ionization-high-resolution mass spectrometry and synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy.
2015,
Pubmed
Bauer,
The toxicity of organic fractions from aged oil sands process-affected water to aquatic species.
2019,
Pubmed
Behrends,
Mate calling behavior of male South African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) is suppressed by the antiandrogenic endocrine disrupting compound flutamide.
2010,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Burmeister,
Social context influences androgenic effects on calling in the green treefrog (Hyla cinerea).
2001,
Pubmed
Clemente,
A review of the occurrence, analyses, toxicity, and biodegradation of naphthenic acids.
2005,
Pubmed
Frank,
Assessing spatial and temporal variability of acid-extractable organics in oil sands process-affected waters.
2016,
Pubmed
Frank,
Profiling oil sands mixtures from industrial developments and natural groundwaters for source identification.
2014,
Pubmed
Grewer,
Naphthenic acids and other acid-extractables in water samples from Alberta: what is being measured?
2010,
Pubmed
Gutierrez-Villagomez,
Naphthenic Acid Mixtures and Acid-Extractable Organics from Oil Sands Process-Affected Water Impair Embryonic Development of Silurana (Xenopus) tropicalis.
2019,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Gutierrez-Villagomez,
Analysis of naphthenic acid mixtures as pentafluorobenzyl derivatives by gas chromatography-electron impact mass spectrometry.
2017,
Pubmed
Gutierrez-Villagomez,
Profiling low molecular weight organic compounds from naphthenic acids, acid extractable organic mixtures, and oil sands process-affected water by SPME-GC-EIMS.
2020,
Pubmed
Hayes,
Atrazine induces complete feminization and chemical castration in male African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis).
2010,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Headley,
A review of the occurrence and fate of naphthenic acids in aquatic environments.
2004,
Pubmed
Heckmann,
NORMA-Gene: a simple and robust method for qPCR normalization based on target gene data.
2011,
Pubmed
Hoffmann,
An environmentally relevant endocrine-disrupting antiandrogen, vinclozolin, affects calling behavior of male Xenopus laevis.
2010,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Hoffmann,
Effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of the xeno-androgen, methyldihydrotestosterone, on male and female mating behavior in Xenopus laevis.
2012,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Kavanagh,
Fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) reproduction is impaired when exposed to a naphthenic acid extract.
2012,
Pubmed
Kelley,
Auditory and vocal nuclei in the frog brain concentrate sex hormones.
1980,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Kelley,
Locations of androgen-concentrating cells in the brain of Xenopus laevis: autoradiography with 3H-dihydrotestosterone.
1981,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Leung,
The ecological effects of naphthenic acids and salts on phytoplankton from the Athabasca oil sands region.
2003,
Pubmed
Lister,
Reproductive and stress hormone levels in goldfish (Carassius auratus) exposed to oil sands process-affected water.
2008,
Pubmed
Loughery,
Transcriptome Profiling in Larval Fathead Minnow Exposed to Commercial Naphthenic Acids and Extracts from Fresh and Aged Oil Sands Process-Affected Water.
2019,
Pubmed
Marentette,
Toxicity of naphthenic acid fraction components extracted from fresh and aged oil sands process-affected waters, and commercial naphthenic acid mixtures, to fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) embryos.
2015,
Pubmed
McNutt,
Review of flow rate estimates of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
2012,
Pubmed
McQueen,
A risk-based approach for identifying constituents of concern in oil sands process-affected water from the Athabasca Oil Sands region.
2017,
Pubmed
Melvin,
Toxicity of naphthenic acids to wood frog tadpoles (Lithobates sylvaticus).
2012,
Pubmed
Melvin,
Effects of naphthenic acid exposure on development and liver metabolic processes in anuran tadpoles.
2013,
Pubmed
Melvin,
Growth, development and incidence of deformities in amphibian larvae exposed as embryos to naphthenic acid concentrations detected in the Canadian oil sands region.
2012,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Miranda,
Arginine vasotocin induces calling behavior with a female social stimulus and interacts with gonadotropins to affect sexual behaviors in male Xenopus tropicalis.
2015,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Morandi,
Effects-Directed Analysis of Dissolved Organic Compounds in Oil Sands Process-Affected Water.
2015,
Pubmed
Morandi,
Effects of chemical fractions from an oil sands end-pit lake on reproduction of fathead minnows.
2020,
Pubmed
Morrell,
Autoradiographic localization of hormone-concentrating cells in the brain of an amphibian, Xenopus laevis. II. Estradiol.
1975,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Munakata,
Endocrine control of sexual behavior in teleost fish.
2010,
Pubmed
Palka,
Pituitary and testicular influenced sexual behavior in male frogs, Rana pipiens.
1973,
Pubmed
Reinardy,
Aromatic naphthenic acids in oil sands process-affected water, resolved by GCxGC-MS, only weakly induce the gene for vitellogenin production in zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae.
2013,
Pubmed
Robitaille,
Consequences of steroid-5α-reductase deficiency and inhibition in vertebrates.
2020,
Pubmed
Rosenfeld,
Neuroendocrine disruption of organizational and activational hormone programming in poikilothermic vertebrates.
2017,
Pubmed
Rowland,
Diamonds in the rough: identification of individual naphthenic acids in oil sands process water.
2011,
Pubmed
Scarlett,
Acute toxicity of aromatic and non-aromatic fractions of naphthenic acids extracted from oil sands process-affected water to larval zebrafish.
2013,
Pubmed
Simair,
Treatment of oil sands process affected waters by constructed wetlands: Evaluation of designs and plant types.
2021,
Pubmed
Sundin,
Behavioural alterations induced by the anxiolytic pollutant oxazepam are reversible after depuration in a freshwater fish.
2019,
Pubmed
Sutuyeva,
Mortality of embryos, developmental disorders and changes in biochemical parameters in marsh frog (Rana ridibunda) tadpoles exposed to the water-soluble fraction of Kazakhstan crude oil and O-Xylene.
2019,
Pubmed
Thomas,
Effect-directed identification of naphthenic acids as important in vitro xeno-estrogens and anti-androgens in North sea offshore produced water discharges.
2009,
Pubmed
Vander Meulen,
Transformation of bitumen-derived naphthenic acid fraction compounds across surface waters of wetlands in the Athabasca Oil Sands region.
2022,
Pubmed
Wada,
Correlation between blood level of androgens and sexual behavior in male leopard frogs, Rana pipiens.
1976,
Pubmed
Wada,
Relation of mode of administration of testosterone to evocation of male sex behavior in frogs.
1977,
Pubmed
Wan,
Naphthenic acids in coastal sediments after the Hebei Spirit oil spill: a potential indicator for oil contamination.
2014,
Pubmed
Wang,
Occurrences and behaviors of naphthenic acids in a petroleum refinery wastewater treatment plant.
2015,
Pubmed
Wang,
Developmental toxicity and endocrine disruption of naphthenic acids on the early life stage of zebrafish (Danio rerio).
2015,
Pubmed
Wetzel,
Androgen and gonadotropin effects on male mate calls in South African clawed frogs, Xenopus laevis.
1983,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
Yang,
Direct action of gonadotropin in brain integrates behavioral and reproductive functions.
2007,
Pubmed
,
Xenbase
