Effects of pollutant toxicity on the eyes of aquatic life monitored by visual dysfunction in zebrafish: a review

The eyes of aquatic organisms may be damaged by exposure to pollutants. Zebrafish is a common laboratory model to study ocular toxicity, combining both fish and vertebrate characteristics. The toxic effects on zebrafish eyes caused by pollutants include morphological changes and damage to the retina at the molecular, cellular, and tissue levels; and abnormalities in the visual phototransduction and electrical signal transmission processes. Such damage induces functional disorders of vision-related behaviors. The underlying mechanisms include thyroid hormone signaling, retinoic acid signaling, and retinal glucose metabolism. Here, we review the ocular toxicity phenotypes and related signaling pathways induced by contaminants. We present detection methods and emerging tools for studying ocular toxicity. We also propose a model to predict the potential ocular toxicity of contaminants.