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Updated: Jul 12, 2026
Long-term Behavioral and Reproductive Consequences of Embryonic Exposure to Low-dose Toxicants
Published on: March 6, 2018
Bisphenol A alternatives (BPS and BPAF) disrupt anti-predatory behavior and intergenerational behavioral responses in
Daniel Fernandes da Costa1, Gustavo Venâncio da Silva2, Marina Sanson Bellot3
1Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao, Shandong, 266237, China; Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Institute of Biosciences (IBB), São Paulo State University (Unesp), Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil; Institute of Marine Science and Technology, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China; State Key Laboratory of Mariculture Biobreeding and Sustainable Goods, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Qingdao, Shandong, China; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada.
Abstract:
Bisphenol S (BPS) and bisphenol AF (BPAF) are increasingly used as alternatives to bisphenol A and are now widely detected in aquatic environments. These compounds interfere in endocrine systems as the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal and the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axes. However, their effects on ecologically relevant behaviors, such as exploration and anti-predatory responses, have received limited attention. This is particularly true for paternal transmission across generations. Here, we investigated exploratory and anti-predatory behavior in adult zebrafish exposed to BPS or BPAF and assessed whether paternal exposure induces behavioral alterations in the offspring. Adult males were exposed for 14 days to BPS (0.5 µg/L) or BPAF (0.15 µg/L) and tested for anti-predatory and anxiety-like behaviors. Exposed males were then crossed with unexposed females to generate F1 embryos. Embryos from unexposed parents were directly exposed to BPS or BPAF for 5 days. Larval visual locomotor response was assessed using the light-dark transition test. BPAF exposure impaired anti-predatory responses and increased anxiety-like behavior in adult males, whereas BPS had no detectable effects at this stage. In larvae, both BPS and BPAF altered visual locomotor responses, either following direct exposure or through paternal transmission. Directly exposed larvae showed reduced light-phase inhibition, while larvae derived from exposed males exhibited increased dark-phase activity, consistent with a hyperactive phenotype. These findings demonstrate that paternal exposure to BPS and BPAF is sufficient to disrupt offspring behavior and highlight that bisphenol A alternatives, even at low concentrations, pose ecological risks by impairing fish behavioral performance and potentially survival.
