Effect of environmental contamination on male and female gametes

The current review describes the risk associated with exposing both male and female gametes to environmental contaminants. It discusses representative compounds: some of them are synthetic chemicals (e.g., industrial and pharmaceutical compounds), whereas others are naturally occurring toxins (e.g., mycotoxins). The review also points out the impact of exposure to a mixture of compounds as well as simultaneously exposing to more than one stressor, to better highlight the risk of mixture exposure. Nowadays, most of the data are based on rodent models or from epidemiological human studies. However, less is known about the effects of environmental contaminants on domestic animal gametes. This is pointed out in the current review.