Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 12, 2026

Prospecting Microbial Strains for Bioremediation and Probiotics Development for Metaorganism Research and Preservation
Published on: October 31, 2019
Low concentrations, potential ecological consequences: synthetic estrogens alter life-history and demographic
María Sol Souza1, Per Hallgren, Esteban Balseiro
1Laboratorio de Limnología, INIBIOMA (CONICET-UNComahue), Quintral 1250, Bariloche, Río Negro R8400, Argentina. ssouza@comahue-conicet.gob.ar
Abstract:
Contraceptive drugs are nowadays found in aquatic environments around the globe. Particularly, 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) may act even at low concentrations, such as those recorded in natural ecosystems. We evaluated the physiological effects of EE2 on cyclopoids and calanoids, common copepods in both marine and freshwater communities. We used three EE2 concentrations and assessed its impact on activity of different physiological endpoints: Acetylcholinesterase (neurotransmission), Glutathione S-transferase (detoxifying system), and Caspase-3 (apoptosis). While EE2 exerts, distinctive effect on detoxifying and apoptotic systems, no effect on AChE was observed at environmental doses. Our results show that EE2 exposure affects differently copepod physiology endpoints, altering moulting process, adult recruitment in calanoids and calanoid to cyclopoid ratio. The ecological consequences of this underlying physiological process may affect since life history to population and community structures, and this represent a new aspects of this xenobiotic in natural systems.
More Related Videos
09:49Use of a Battery of Chemical and Ecotoxicological Methods for the Assessment of the Efficacy of Wastewater Treatment Processes to Remove Estrogenic Potency
Published on: September 11, 2016
08:00Screening for Endocrine Activity in Water Using Commercially-available In Vitro Transactivation Bioassays
Published on: December 4, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Toxicity Testing in Animals
Effects of Chemicals: Overview
Types of Toxins
Air pollutants, primarily gases, pose significant threats to respiratory health, leading to conditions like hypoxia, lung cancer, and in extreme cases, death.
Environmental pollutants like...
The Periodic Table and Organismal Elements
Periodic Table Provides Information...
Toxic Reactions: Overview
Toxicity falls into two primary categories: local and systemic.
Local toxicity appears at the exposure site, such as protein denaturation caused by caustic substances.
In contrast, systemic toxicity requires the toxic agent's absorption and distribution,...