Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) vitellogenin: purification and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of endocrine disruption by papermill effluent

Vitellogenin (VTG) is a highly specific marker of exposure to environmental estrogens and has been used extensively in field and laboratory studies of estrogenic endocrine disruption in fishes. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a sensitive, competitive, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) specific for bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) vitellogenin. Bluegill VTG was purified by anion exchange chromatography on DEAE-agarose. The polypeptide had an apparent mass of 170 kDa and was specifically recognized by the rabbit antiserum raised against bluegill female-specific plasma protein. Plasma samples from vitellogenic females diluted in parallel with the purified VTG standard curve in the ELISA. The detection limit of the assay was 29 ng/ml and the working range extended to 2700 ng/ml. Recovery of purified VTG was 85.8+/-9.5%, intra-assay variation was 6.4% and interassay variation was 12.3%. We used this ELISA to analyze the seasonal cycle of vitellogenesis in female bluegill and to evaluate potential disruption of this process by exposure to bleached kraft mill effluent (BKME). Captive female bluegill stocked in outdoor experimental streams in New Bern, NC had the lowest levels of VTG, estradiol-17beta (E2), and testosterone (T) and the smallest oocyte diameters in January, but these variables increased in March and remained elevated through August, suggesting an extended spawning season. Plasma VTG, E2, T and oocyte diameter were unaffected by exposure to BKME concentrations as high as 30%. Development of the VTG ELISA allowed rapid and convenient analysis of plasma samples to evaluate exposure to potential endocrine disrupting compounds.