Carbendazim induced morphological abnormalities in developing zebrafish embroys

Carbendazim is an extensively used fungicide for protection of crops, fruits and vegetables against fungal diseases, and also for protection of harvested products during their storage and transportation. Carbendazim inhibits the synthesis of nucleic acids and cell division in fungi. The present study is an attempt to examine the effect of non-lethal concentration of Carbendazim on potential developmental stages of Zebrafish (Danio rerio). Fertilized eggs of the same developmental stage, 4 hours post fertilization were exposed to three different concentrations of Carbendazim namely 600μg/L, 800 μg/L and 1000 μg/L. Standard growth parameters like hatching rate, mortality and morphological deformities were observed and recorded at regular intervals of 24 hrs upto 96 hpf. Delay in hatching was noticed at higher concentrations of Carbendazim and abnormalities like edema, heart rate, difference in yolk sac size and decrease in body pigmentation were observed in embryos before hatching, where as in larvae edema, shrinking of yolk sac and dorsal curvature of the body was identified. From the studies carried out Carbendazim was shown to delay hatching and also caused different morphological abnormalities. These two could be due to slower utilization of yolk.