Methylmercury (MeHg) is a well-known toxic pollutant. However, little is known about the effects of this toxic agent in an adult as a consequence of a parental or preimaginal exposure. This study used Drosophila melanogaster to investigate whether a parental or a preimaginal (eggs-larvae-pupae stages) exposure could impact parameters as viability, locomotor activity, and sleep patterns of fruit flies. Thus, we performed two exposure protocols. One where just parents were exposed to MeHg (0-12 µM) during 24 h, then flies were transferred to lay eggs in a healthy medium (without MeHg). In the other, flies were set to lay eggs in a MeHg medium, same concentrations, and discarded after this (preimaginal exposure). Viability was evaluated from egg to adult flies. F1 progeny was collected within 24 h and transferred to a fresh healthy medium. Sleep behavior analysis was performed using Drosophila Active Monitoring System (DAMS), and the locomotor activity was evaluated by climbing assay. Results have shown that the parental exposure had a significant impact on F1 progeny reducing viability and locomotor activity performance, but no significant circadian rhythm alterations. Whereas the preimaginal exposure had a stronger effect decreasing viability and locomotor activity, it also disrupted sleep patterns. MeHg preimaginal exposure showed a longer sleep duration and lower daily activity. Results corroborate the hypothesis that low MeHg exposure could trigger subclinical symptoms related to a 'neurotoxicological development effect'. Complementary investigations could clarify the underlying mechanisms of MeHg effects in neural functions due to parental and early development exposure to this toxicant.

中文翻译：

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父母和想象中的甲基汞暴露会破坏成年果蝇的运动能力和昼夜节律。

甲基汞（MeHg）是一种众所周知的有毒污染物。然而，由于父母或想象前的暴露，这种毒剂对成年人的影响知之甚少。这项研究使用果蝇（Drosophila melanogaster）来研究父母暴露或想象前暴露（卵-幼虫-up阶段）是否会影响果蝇的生存力，运动能力和睡眠方式等参数。因此，我们执行了两个暴露协议。一种是仅父母在24小时内暴露于MeHg（0-12 µM），然后将苍蝇转移到健康培养基（无MeHg）中产卵。在另一种情况下，将果蝇设置在相同浓度的MeHg培养基中产卵，然后将其丢弃（假想中的暴露）。评价了从卵到成年蝇的生存力。F1后代在24小时内收集并转移到新鲜的健康培养基中。使用果蝇主动监测系统（DAMS）进行睡眠行为分析，并通过攀登试验评估运动能力。结果表明，父母的暴露对F1子代有显着影响，降低了活力和运动能力，但没有明显的昼夜节律改变。想象前的暴露在降低生存能力和运动能力方面具有更强的作用，但它也破坏了睡眠方式。MeHg影像前暴露显示出更长的睡眠时间和更低的日常活动。结果证实了以下假设：低甲基汞暴露可能触发与“神经毒理学发展效应”有关的亚临床症状。