Agonistic effect of imidazole and triazole fungicides on in vitro oocyte maturation in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

The purpose of the present study was to assess the in vitro effect of some imidazole (prochloraz, imazalil) and triazole (epoxiconazole) agricultural fungicides on gonadotropin-induced oocyte maturation in rainbow trout. Results show that prochloraz, epoxiconazole and imazalil strongly potentiated the induction of oocyte maturation by gonadotropin in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, 10⁻⁵ M prochloraz and epoxiconazole alone induced oocyte maturation. The mRNA biosynthesis inhibitor, actinomycin , completely inhibited oocyte maturation induced by fungicides, suggesting that the gonadotropin-like effect of these chemicals is at least dependent on de novo gene expression.