Abstract
Contamination of the aquatic environment by widely used chemicals that can mimic the effects of estrogen is of increasing concern due to the potential for large-scale ecosystem disturbance. Many experiments have characterized the estrogenic activity of these chemicals, but reliable field data on wildlife effects are scarce. We used the detection of serum vitellogenin (VTG) in wild male flounder, as a sensitive biomarker for environmental estrogen in the marine field. An enzyme immune assay (ETA) with use of fluorophore was developed using antiserum for lipovitellin (major component of VTG) in rabbits, along with VTG isolated from wild flounder, Pleuronectes yokohamae. High concentration of VTG was detected (maximum: 670 ng/m1) in 20 of 51 wild male flounder collected in Tokyo Bay. This is the first report of elevated VTG in wild male marine fish in Japan. These biornarker data in dicate that weak estrogenic effects on wild male flounder may he widespread in Tokyo Bay.
