Abstract: The aim of the paper is to understand the effects of sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) on the embryo developmental toxicity and neurotoxicity of Pelteobagrus fulvidraco and to scientifically assess the environmental and ecological risks of SDBS contamination in water. The embryos of Pelteobagrus fulvidraco were exposed to SDBS at 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8 mg·L^-1 mass concentration for 4 h after fertilization to observe the cumulative mortality and malformation rate of embryos at hatching, and to explore the potential mechanism of neurotoxicity by detecting the transcript levels of acetylcholinesterase activity and related genes, 5-hydroxytryptamine levels and related genes in brain tissue of 5-day-old larvae. The results show that compared with the control group, the hatching malformation rate of exposed treated Pelteobagrus fulvidraco embryos increased by 4.5-14.5 percentages (P＜0.05) and the mortality rate increased by 7.8-23.4 percentages (P＜0.05). The acetylcholinesterase activity in exposed normal and deformed littermates was significantly reduced by 12.0%-50.5% (P＜0.05) and 15.0%-53.9% (P＜0.05), respectively. And the mRNA expression level of acetylcholinesterase gene decreased in exposed littermates. The 5-hydroxytryptamine content in exposed normal and deformed littermates was significantly reduced by 2.6%-9.9% and 3.0%-11.1% (P＜0.05), respectively. The transcript levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine gene were significantly reduced in normal and deformed fish. The above results indicate that SDBS exposure significantly increased the mortality and malformation rate of Pelteobagrus fulvidraco embryos at hatching. SDBS affected neurotransmission and inhibited neurotransmitter-related gene expression by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase activity and 5-hydroxytryptamine level, thus producing embryo developmental toxic and neurotoxic effects on Pelteobagrus fulvidraco.

Key words: sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate, Pelteobagrus fulvidraco, neurotoxicity, embryo developmental toxicity, larvae