Screening Hormone Activity in Surface Water from Urban Protected Areas in Argentina.

MORA, SC; FRITZ, M; KASS, L; MUÑOZ-DE-TORO, M; TAVALIERI, YE; GALOPPO, GH; RIVERA, OE; LUQUE, EH; TRUTER, JC; BERGERO, L; VAN WYK, JH

Charleston

Congreso; 20th Pollutant Responses in Marine Organisms (PRIMO20); 2019

Protected areas (PAs) are effective tools for biodiversity conservation and maintain natural ecosystems;they contribute to the livelihood of local communities, to improve environmental education and to mitigate the effects of climate change. Unfortunately, PAnot alwaysguarantees protection for freshwater ecosystems.Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDC) are compounds interfering with hormone signaling. Omnipresent in the environment, they cancause adverse effects in a wide range of wildlife.In vitro yeast-based assays integrate the joint effects of all EDC present in complex samples, no matter whether the causative chemicals and the mixture composition are known or not. The goal of this studywas to screening hormonal activityin surface water at potentially threatened sites in two PAs located at the University Campuses of two Argentinean Universities:Universidad Nacional del Litoral (UNL), Santa Fe and Universidad Nacional de Lomas de Zamora(UNLZ), Buenos Aires. Seven sites were selected for investigation.In vitro yeast-based assays were usedto detect estrogenic (YES), anti-estrogenic, androgenic (YAS) and anti-androgenicactivities.Agonist activities were as follow: 3/3 UNLZ and 4/4 UNL samples exhibited estrogenic activity(EEQ) and1/3 UNLZ exhibited androgenic activity.Antagonist activities, calculated as equivalents of Tamoxifen for YES, were exhibited by 2/3 UNLZ samples; while calculated as equivalents of Flutamide for YAS were exhibited by 3/3 UNLZ. Antagonist activities were not observed in UNL samples.Moreover, EEQ found in 2/3 samples from UNLZ were above 2 ng/l, the predicted-no-effect concentration for 17β-estradiol used in risk assessment of aquatic organisms, whereas UNL samples did not reach this cutoff value. Our findings confirm the utility of the yeast recombinant assay to monitoring EDC activity in complex natural sampleshighlighting the importance of considering EDC in PA management to warrant PA contribution to conserve biodiversity.