E-Poster Presentation ESA-SRB-ANZBMS 2021

Chronic multi-generational atrazine exposure effects female mouse health and fertility  (#546)

Ngoc Tho Tony Nguyen 1 , Jessica Stringer 1 , Qiaochu Wang 1 , Amy Winship 1 , Lauren Alesi 1 , Bethany Finger 2 , Nadeen Zerafa 1 , Xuebi Cai 1 , Jodi Flaws 3 , Mark Green 2 , Karla Hutt 1
  1. Ovarian Biology Laboratory, Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
  2. School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
  3. Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, United States

Understanding the effects of pervasive environmental toxicants on the ovary, oocytes, and female fertility is vital, as perturbations can result in reproductive disorders and systemic diseases in current and future generations. The herbicide atrazine (ATZ) is a common ground and surface water contaminant in Australia and globally. Exposure to high atrazine concentrations can significantly effect metabolic health and reproductive processes. However, comprehensive analyses of the impact of environmentally relevant exposures on ovarian function and female fertility, as well as multigenerational effects are lacking. Thus, we have continuously exposed female mice to an environmentally relevant atrazine concentration (0.02 ng/ml; a conservative contamination level in Australian waterways), via their drinking water for three generations. Data from the first generation indicates there was no significant difference in females body composition, however there was a significant reduction in liver mass (ATZ 0.038±0.0091, control 0.045±0.0036, n=13, P=0.019) and bone mineral density (ATZ 0.0536±0.002186, control mean 0.05568 ±0.001392, n=9-13, P=0.013) in females exposed to atrazine compared to controls. In the ovary, the primordial follicle reserve tended to decrease (ATZ 85±30.6, control 118.6±19.6, n=5, P=0.073) and the number of atretic antral follicles increased (ATZ 7.6±4.037, control 3.2±1.304, n=5, P=0.049) in ATZ-exposed females. Interestingly, blastocysts from ATZ-exposed females, produced 1.88 ± 1.2-fold higher levels of ATP relative to controls (n=25-32, P<0.001), a possible indicator of stress and longterm effects. These data suggest that while very low doses of atrazine in our waterways may not manifest in obvious metabolic health defects (e.g. obesity), there may be subtle impacts on liver and bone health as well as oocyte quality. To determine if these effects are compounded by chronic atrazine exposure, female mice from second and third generations will also be analysed. This study represents the first in-depth analysis of the impacts of chronic multi-generational atrazine exposure on female reproductive health.