Norflurazon is widely used on agricultural lands and has a high potential to pollute water sources. However, its effects on fish have not been fully elucidated. The purpose of our study was to determine whether norflurazon adversely affects the developmental stage of zebrafish, which are frequently used as a model system to evaluate the environmental impact of pollutants. Norflurazon interfered with the hatching of zebrafish embryos and induced several sublethal deformities including body length reduction, increased yolk sac volume, and enlargement of the pericardial region. We further examined the cardiotoxicity of norflurazon in the flk1:eGFP transgenic zebrafish line. The vascular network, mainly in the brain region, was significantly disrupted in norflurazon-exposed zebrafish. In addition, due to the failure of cardiac looping, norflurazon-exposed zebrafish had an abnormal cardiac structure. These developmental abnormalities were related to the apoptotic process triggered by norflurazon. Overall, the present study demonstrated the non-target toxicity of norflurazon by analyzing the hazardous effects of norflurazon on developing zebrafish.

Dimethachlor is a synthetic herbicide, belonging to the chloroacetanilide group, that inhibits the undesirable growth of weeds via the suppression of very longchain fatty acid synthesis. Although dimethachlor has been shown to run off from agricultural fields into aquatic ecosystems, the toxicity of dimethachlor on aquatic invertebrates and vertebrates is unknown. In our study, we assessed the toxicity of dimethachlor on developing zebrafish embryos by analyzing viability, hatching ability, and phenotypic changes. Embryonic viability decreased from 48 h post-fertilization (hpf) at the highest concentration of dimethachlor. Decreased hatching ratio, shortened body length, and pathological changes in the eye, heart, and yolk sac were observed at sub-lethal concentrations. Additionally, dimethachlor increased the number of apoptotic cells and level of reactive oxygen species 120 hpf. Our results indicate that dimethachlor may act as an anti-developmental toxicant when accumulated in an aquatic environment.