Effects of the exposure to atrazine on bone development of Podocnemis expansa (Testudines, Podocnemididae)

• Published in: Ecotoxicology (London) 2016-04, Vol.25 (3), p.594-600
• Main Authors: dos Santos Mendonça, Juliana, Vieira, Lucélia Gonçalves, Valdes, Sady Alexis Chavauty, Vilca, Franz Zirena, Tornisielo, Valdemar Luiz, Santos, André Luiz Quagliatto
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural practices; Animals; Aquatic reptiles; Atrazine; Atrazine - toxicity; Bone Development - drug effects; Brazil; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Ecotoxicology; Embryonic development; Embryos; Environment; Environmental Management; Environmental Monitoring; Flora; Herbicides; Herbicides - toxicity; Hydroxides; Pesticides; Podocnemididae; Podocnemis expansa; Reptiles; Testudines; Turtles; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity; Water pollution
• ISSN: 0963-9292; 1573-3017
• DOI: 10.1007/s10646-016-1618-x

The use of pesticides is a widely spread practice in Brazilian agriculture, and dispersion of these substances is an important factor for the fauna and flora. Atrazine is an endocrine disruptor in the xenoestrogen class that is used worldwide in agricultural practices. In Brazil, its use is permitted in several crops. Podocnemis expansa is a representative of the Testudines order that is the largest freshwater reptile of South America. Its distribution enables it to get in contact with molecules that are commonly used as pesticides, which may cause deleterious effects in target populations. In order to evaluate the possible effects of the exposure to atrazine on bone ontogeny of this species, eggs were artificially incubated in sand moistened with water contaminated with atrazine at concentrations equal to 0, 2, 20 or 200 μg/L. Embryos were collected throughout incubation and submitted to diaphanization of soft tissues with potassium hydroxide (KOH); bones were stained with Alizarin red S and cartilages by Alcian blue. Embryos were evaluated for the presence of abnormalities during the different stages of pre-natal development of skeletal elements. No effect of atrazine was observed on bone development during the embryonic phase in P. expansa individuals, in the conditions of this study.