Development of an in vivo acute bioassay using the marine medaka Oryzias melastigma

To determine whether the marine medaka Oryzias melastigma is a suitable model organism for in vivo acute toxicity bioassay in seawater, we first determined whether there were differences in the concentrations of chemicals that were toxic to marine medaka (O. melastigma) and freshwater medaka (O. latipes). We performed in vivo acute toxicity bioassay with 3-chloroaniline, triclosan, 3,4-dichloroaniline, fenitrothion, and pyriproxyfen on larvae of both species. Although the concentrations of 3-chloroaniline and fenitrothion that were lethal to the larvae were identical for both species, the toxic concentrations of triclosan, 3,4-dichloroaniline, and pyriproxyfen were lower for O. melastigma than for O. latipes. We then used an in vivo acute toxicity bioassay to monitor the quality of coastal seawater in Akita, Japan. No lethal effects were observed in the harbor and canal in 2019. O. melastigma could be used to monitor the quality of seawater with salinities in the range 2-25. Our findings suggest that O. melastigma can be used as the test fish for in vivo acute toxicity bioassay intended for water quality monitoring.