Histopatological effects of the herbicide atrazine on ovary and hepatopancreas of the estuarine crab Neohelice granulata

SILVEYRA, GABRIELA; CANOSA, IVANA; MAC LOUGHLIN, CAMILA; RODRÍGUEZ, ENRIQUE M.; MEDESANI, DANIEL

Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires

Congreso; SETAC LATINAMERICA 11th BIENNAL MEETING; 2015

Sociedad de Toxicología y Química Legal-SETAC Argentina

Adult females (10.86  0.08 g) of the estuarine crab Neohelice granulata were exposed for 12 wk (June to September) to Gesaprim90®, at 0.03, 0.3 and 3 mg/L of atrazine as active principle in the commercial formulation. A control group with no atrazine added was also run. Fifteen animals were randomly assigned to each treatment. Each female was isolated in a glass recipient filled with 400 mL of artificial saline water, at 12 g/L, under continuous aeration and controlled conditions of temperature (22 ºC) and photoperiod (14:10 L:D). During the assay, animals were fed three times a week with food pellets and fresh leaves of Elodea sp., renewing all test solutions twice a week. At the end of the assay, the ovary and hepatopancreas of all females were dissected, weighed and fixed in Bouin solution for histological processing. Females exposed to the highest concentration of atrazine showed a gonadosomatic index 50% lower than that of control females. Histological analysis indicated that females exposed to the same atrazine concentration had a reduced proportion of vitellogenic oocytes with respect to control, together with a significantly (p