Addressing an Imminent Problem Presented by a New Class of Pollutants: Chemicals with Epigenetic and Transgenerational Effects

Using the marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma) as a fish model, this project will test the hypothesis that F0 exposed to environmental realistic concentration of some EDCs can cause epigenetic alterations associated with transgenerational reproductive impairment in both males and females in the subsequent generations (F1 to F3). Six EDCs commonly found in elevated concentrations in coastal waters of PRD and China [i.e. BDE-47, BPA, EE2, TBT, TDCPP and TCA) will be selected, and their transgenerational effects on reproductive fitness traits (including gametogenesis, fecundity, onset of puberty, fertilization success, sex ratio, sperm number and motility, ovarian atresia, hormonal changes and expression of related genes along the HPG axis, apoptosis and cell proliferation) will be studied. In parallel, high-throughput massively parallel sequencing will be used to reveal epigenetic changes (i.e. miRNA profile, global and gene specific DNA methylation patterns), to reveal the underlying mechanism underlying the observed reproductive.

Funding Source: UGC - Funding from The City University of Hong Kong^