Effects of DMP exposure on Embryo hatching rates (%) of abalone gametes.

<p>Values are means±SD, and different letters denote values that are significantly different (P<0.05) and the columns that share the same letter are not significantly different (P>0.05).</p

Electron microscopic analysis of the effect of DMP treatment on abalone sperm and eggs.

<p>A, the ultrastructure of control sperm (the arrows indicate mitochondria, the insert picture is the full TEM image of the sperm); B, the ultrastructure of DMP-treated sperm (the mitochondria swell and secund cristae are marked by dotted line arrows); C, the ultrastructure of control eggs; and D, the ultrastructure of DMP-treated eggs (arrows denote egg envelopes).</p

Effect of DMP on reference genes expression in abalone embryos.

<p>Expression levels of cyp3a, 17β-HSD-11 and 17β-HSD-12 after exposure of sperm, eggs or both to DMP. Each bar represents the mean±SD. All real-time reactions were performed three times. Significant differences among the groups were indicated with different letter.</p

Primer sequences for real-time quantitative RT-PCR analyses.

<p>CYP3a: Cytochrome P450, family 3, subfamily A;</p><p>17β-HSD-11: 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases 11;</p><p>17β-HSD-12: 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases 12.</p

The experimental animals in this study.

<p>A, the fully-mature abalone (shell-length near 7 cm); B, the male individual (note the yellowish-white spermary); and C, the female individual (note the dark-violet ovary).</p

Effect of PAEs on morphological development of abalone embryos.

<p>Representative malformations in abalone embryos due to exposure of gametes to DMP (taking sperm exposed to 10 ppb DMP as a example). Arrows point to representative abnormalities for each stage, including incomplete cleavage (1), abnormal protuberances on the embryo envelope (2), dissymmetry splits (3, 4), yolk-sac edema (5, 6) and developmental arrest (7) or monotrochal larva malformation (8).</p

Effects of DMP exposure on embryo abnormality rates (%) of abalone gametes.

<p>Values are means±SD, and different letters denote values that are significantly different (P<0.05) and the columns that share the same letter are not significantly different (P>0.05).</p

Light microscope images of an abalone sperm (A) and egg (B).

<p>The full-length of the sperm is approximately 45 µm, and the diameter of the egg is approximately 150 µm.</p

Effects of DMP exposure on total lipid levels of eggs and ATPase activities of sperm.

<p>(A) total lipid levels of eggs. (B) ATPase activities of sperm. Each bar represents the mean ± SD. Data are representative of three independent experiments. Significant differences (P<0.05, one-way ANOVA) in total lipid levels and ATPase activities between the experimental and control groups are indicated with different letter.</p

Effects of DMP exposure on fertilization rates (%) of abalone gametes.

<p>The percentages of fertilization in different protocols were determined by counting approximately 100–150 randomly sampled eggs. Data are means±SD of three tests. Different letters denote statistically significant differences between control and treatment groups determined by one-way ANOVA (^bP<0.05, ^cP<0.01).</p