%0 Journal Article
%T Macondo crude oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disrupts specific developmental processes during zebrafish embryogenesis
%A T Yvanka de Soysa
%A Allison Ulrich
%A Timo Friedrich
%A Danielle Pite
%A Shannon L Compton
%A Deborah Ok
%A Rebecca L Bernardos
%A Gerald B Downes
%A Shizuka Hsieh
%A Rachael Stein
%A M Caterina Lagdameo
%A Katherine Halvorsen
%A Lydia-Rose Kesich
%A Michael JF Barresi
%J BMC Biology
%D 2012
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1741-7007-10-40
%X WAF of Macondo crude oil sampled during the oil spill was used to treat zebrafish throughout embryonic and larval development. Our results indicate that the Macondo crude oil causes a variety of significant defects in zebrafish embryogenesis, but these defects have specific developmental origins. WAF treatments caused defects in craniofacial development and circulatory function similar to previous reports, but we extend these results to show they are likely derived from an earlier defect in neural crest cell development. Moreover, we demonstrate that exposure to WAFs causes a variety of novel deformations in specific developmental processes, including programmed cell death, locomotor behavior, sensory and motor axon pathfinding, somitogenesis and muscle patterning. Interestingly, the severity of cell death and muscle phenotypes decreased over several months of repeated analysis, which was correlated with a rapid drop-off in the aromatic and alkane hydrocarbon components of the oil.Whether these teratogenic effects are unique to the oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill or generalizable for most crude oil types remains to be determined. This work establishes a model for further investigation into the molecular mechanisms behind crude oil mediated deformations. In addition, due to the high conservation of genetic and cellular processes between zebrafish and other vertebrates, our work also provides a platform for more focused assessment of the impact that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has had on the early life stages of native fish species in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.More than 200 million gallons of crude oil were released from the Macondo Well in the Gulf of Mexico during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill [1,2]. The oil gushed from approximately 5,000 feet below the surface creating underwater plumes of oil and slicks on both the ocean floor and surface. The oil's total vertical exposure to the water column suggested it had the potential to i
%K Deepwater Horizon
%K crude oil
%K zebrafish
%K embryonic development
%K cardiovascular
%K cartilage
%K neural crest
%K peripheral nervous system
%K somitogenesis
%K muscle
%U http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7007/10/40