The toxic effects of deltamethrin on Danio rerio: the correlation among behavior response, physiological damage and AChE

Abstract

Pyrethroid pesticides constitute one of the main types of pesticides in the domestic market. Deltamethrin, one of the typically used pyrethroid pesticides, has high insecticidal activity, and a wide insecticidal spectrum, and is widely used in agricultural production and other activities. A previous study showed deltamethrin to have obvious toxic effects on zooplankton, fish and other aquatic organisms. In the current work, we used fish of the model organism Danio rerio to comprehensively evaluate the effects of deltamethrin on their behavior, physiology and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity. During the initial reaction of the fish to the presence of deltamethrin, their behaviors were found to change with the drug concentration, which directly showed the toxic effect of this pesticide on the fish. The AChE activity of the fish showed a response similar to that of their behavior. Moreover, deltamethrin caused significant damage to their gills and liver. However, being major organs of Danio rerio, the gills and liver showed a different response pattern than did the behavior of the fish.