Comparative benzo[a]pyrene metabolite patterns in fish and rodents.

Benzo[a]pyrene is converted to 3-hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene, 9-hydroxybenzo[a]pyrene, benzo[a]pyrene-4,5-dihydrodiol, benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-dihydrodiol, benzo[a]pyrene-9,10-dihydrodiol, and benzo[a]pyrene quinones by postmitochondrial supernatant or microsomes in such fish as the rainbow trout, flounder, salmon, mullet, little skate, Fundulus grandis, and sea catfish. It is also now well-established that many fish convert benzo[a]pyrene to potent mutagenic metabolites as has been demonstrated with the Ames test, especially when the fish are induced with Aroclor 1254 or 3-methylcholanthrene. The metabolite patterns obtained at different substrate concentrations levels indicate that the metabolism is more complex at low concentrations when metabolites are recycled in the in vitro system.