Assessment of sperm quality parameters from fathead minnows exposed to polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) at Cape Cod, MA in 2019

Fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) exposures to water containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFAS) related to aqueous film-forming foam used in extinguishing fires were performed on-site at the USGS Toxic Substance Hydrology Groundwater Research Site on Cape Cod, MA. In 2019, to investigate potential effects on reproductive parameters, exposures were performed for either 7 or 21 days. Mobile fish-exposure laboratories were deployed in the vicinity of the fire-training area (FTA) sampling well where high concentrations of PFAS have been documented and in proximity to relatively uncontaminated groundwater (REF). One REF- and FTA- 7 day treatment group each was acclimated for 10 days in REF prior to their exposure. Laboratory data were collected from one testis per fish that was shipped cool overnight in Ginsburg Fish Ringer’s buffer with antibiotic/antimycotic solution to Wetlands and Aquatic Research Center for a delivery within 24 hours. To assess potential effects on male reproductive parameters, sperm motility parameters were collected by using computer assisted sperm motion analysis, and potential genotoxic effects were investigated by measuring chromatin fragmentation with flow cytometry with cells from preserved testicular tissues treated with heat and acid prior to DNA staining. Some fish phenotypic characteristics were included in statistical analyses. These data will be included with the larger study measuring multiple fish endpoints. Total and progressive sperm motilities were lowest from the FTA treatment group that had not been acclimated (P<0.0001).