Different sensitivities of whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) and northern pike (Esox lucius) eleutheroembryos to photoinduced toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

The photoinduced toxicity of two polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), retene (RET) and pyrene (PYR), to the eleutheroembryos of whitefish and northern pike was studied. Fish were exposed to three concentrations of RET and PYR, and irradiated with ultraviolet radiation (UVR) or visible light for 3 h on two consecutive days. UVR covered the absorption maxima of RET and PYR at UVB and UVA, the daily UVR doses were 30 and 28 kJ m−2, respectively. After 72 h, mortality and behavioral abnormalities were observed. Survivors were analyzed for the proteins of CYP1A, CYP3A, Hsp70, and the activity of glutathione reductase (GR). While neither PAHs nor UVR on their own were lethal, simultaneous exp…