TFM is a piscicide.1 It is toxic to sea lamprey (P. marinus) with LC50 values ranging from 1.97 to 2.11 and 2.05 to 2.21 mg/L for sac and swim-up fry, respectively, 1.6 to 2.45 mg/L for juveniles, and 1.6 to 1.63 mg/L for adults. It is also toxic to juvenile lake sturgeon (A. fulvescens) less than 100 mm in size but not to a variety of other fish species. TFM (50 µM) uncouples oxidative phosphorylation by 22 and 28% in isolated sea lamprey and rainbow trout (O. mykiss) liver, respectively.2 Formulations containing TFM have been used as lampricides in the control of larval sea lamprey populations.
1.Boogaard, M.A., Bills, T.D., and Johnson, D.A.Acute toxicity of TFM and a TFM/niclosamide mixture to selected species of fish, including lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) and mudpuppies (Necturus maculosus), in laboratory and field exposuresJ. Great Lakes Res.29(Suppl 1)529-541(2003) 2.Birceanu, O., McClelland, G.B., Wang, Y.S., et al.The lampricide 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) uncouples mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation in both sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) and TFM-tolerant rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)Comp. Biochem. Physiol. C. Toxicol. Pharmacol.153(3)342-349(2011)