Arachidonic acid enhances reproduction in Daphnia magna and mitigates changes in sex ratios induced by pyriproxyfen.

Arachidonic acid is 1 of only 2 unsaturated fatty acids retained in the ovaries of crustaceans and an inhibitor of HR97g, a nuclear receptor expressed in adult ovaries. The authors hypothesized that, as a key fatty acid, arachidonic acid may be associated with reproduction and potentially environmental sex determination in Daphnia. Reproduction assays with arachidonic acid indicate that it alters female:male sex ratios by increasing female production. This reproductive effect only occurred during a restricted Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata diet. Next, the authors tested whether enriching a poorer algal diet (Chlorella vulgaris) with arachidonic acid enhances overall reproduction and sex ratios. Arachidonic acid enrichment of a C. vulgaris diet also enhances fecundity at 1.0 µM and 4.0 µM by 30% to 40% in the presence and absence of pyriproxyfen. This indicates that arachidonic acid is crucial in reproduction regardless of environmental sex determination. Furthermore, the data indicate that P. subcapitata may provide a threshold concentration of arachidonic acid needed for reproduction. Diet-switch experiments from P. subcapitata to C. vulgaris mitigate some, but not all, of arachidonic acid's effects when compared with a C. vulgaris-only diet, suggesting that some arachidonic acid provided by P. subcapitata is retained. In summary, arachidonic acid supplementation increases reproduction and represses pyriproxyfen-induced environmental sex determination in D. magna in restricted diets. A diet rich in arachidonic acid may provide protection from some reproductive toxicants such as the juvenile hormone agonist pyriproxyfen. Environ Toxicol Chem 2015;34:527-535. © 2014 SETAC.