Effect of Pesticide Zineb on Development of Notochord in Zebrafish Embryos

Objective Monitor the toxicity of widely used pesticide Zineb.

Methods Zebrafish embryos were applied as an animal model for a bioassay.

Results It was showed that 0.0025, 0.005, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.05, 0.1, and 1.0 μmol/L of zineb could induce 4.2%, 10.5%, 5.27%, 26.25%, 44.11%, 66.25%, 100%, and 100% of notochord defect (curve) respectively in zebrafish embryos, but no significant influence on the mortality of zebrafish embryos.There was no significant association between the specific notochord curve and collagen.

Conclusions This experiment indicated that low level and short-term zineb exposure could also cause a fetal malformation, and the zebrfish embryos might be a very good animal model for environment pollution monitoring.