skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Effects of embryonic pre-exposure to methylmercury and Hg/sup 2 +/ on larval tolerance in Fundulus heteroclitus

Journal Article · · Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol.; (United States)
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01605470· OSTI ID:5213288

Many reports demonstrate enhanced metal tolerance as a result of previous exposure to low concentrations. Pretreatment of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) eggs with cadmium made the larvae more resistant to subsequent Cd treatment. Larvae of the flagfish, Jordanella floridae, initially exposed as embryos to Zn and to mixtures of Zn and Cd were much more tolerant than those not previously exposed, indicating acclimation during embryonic exposure. Acclimation to metals after pre-exposure was attributed to stimulation of the synthesis of metal-binding proteins, or metallothioneins, in the liver, which form a nontoxic complex with the metal. In this paper we report on the effects of embryonic pre-exposure to methylmercury(meHf) and Hg/sup 2 +/ on larval susceptibility to these toxicants in the killifish, Fundulus heteroclitus.

OSTI ID:
5213288
Journal Information:
Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol.; (United States), Vol. 31:5
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English