Mercury (Hg) is a global pollutant that poses potential threats to health of fishes. Although effects of Hg on reproduction of fishes have been documented, little is known about effects of exposure to Hg²⁺ during early life stages on subsequent reproductive fitness of adults or whether these effects can be transferred to offspring. In this study, zebrafish embryos were exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of Hg²⁺ (0.6, 3 or 15 μg/L) for 5 days and then depurated in clean water for another 115 days. Exposure to Hg²⁺ during early life stages disturbed the balance of sex hormones and gametogenesis by altering expression of mRNA for genes involved in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, which resulted in delayed gonadal development and lesser gonado-somatic index, thereby resulting in lesser fecundity. A similar, but less pronounced effect was observed in F₁ females that were not exposed directly to Hg, whereas such damage was neither observed in F₁ males nor either sex during the F₂ generation. Exposure to Hg²⁺ during early life can impair subsequent reproduction in adults and has intergenerational effects on F₁ females, but this reproductive damage can be recovered in F₁ males and in F₂ females.

汞（Hg）是一种全球污染物，对鱼类健康构成潜在威胁。尽管已经记录了汞对鱼类繁殖的影响，但对于生命早期阶段接触Hg ^2+的影响对成年人随后的生殖健康以及这些影响是否可以转移给后代的了解甚少。在这项研究中，斑马鱼的胚胎暴露于环境相关浓度的Hg ²⁺（0.6、3或15μg/ L）5天，然后在净水中净化115天。暴露于汞²⁺在生命的早期阶段，通过改变下丘脑-垂体-性腺轴相关基因的mRNA表达，扰乱了性激素和配子发生的平衡，导致性腺发育延迟和性腺体指数降低，从而导致生育力降低。在未直接暴露于Hg的F ₁雌性动物中观察到了类似但不太明显的作用，而在F ₂产生期间，在F ₁雄性动物和性别中均未观察到这种损害。生命早期暴露于Hg ²⁺会损害成年后的生殖能力，并对F ₁雌性产生代际影响，但是这种生殖损害可以在F ₁雄性和F _1中恢复。_2位女性