Atrazine, a widely use herbicide, has been classified as a potential endocrine disruptor, especially for freshwater species. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that atrazine can affect reproduction in crayfish through dysregulation of vitellogenin expression and hormone synthesis. Adult female crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) were exposed during one month to atrazine at concentrations of either 1 or 5 mg/L. At the end of the exposure, ovaries, hepatopancreas, and hemolymph samples were harvested for analysis of vitellogenin expression and steroid hormone levels. Ovarian tissue was also sampled for both biochemical and histological analyses. Our results show that atrazine-exposed crayfish had a lower expression of vitellogenin in the ovary and hepatopancreas, as well as smaller oocytes, and reduced vitellogenin content in the ovary. Despite these effects, circulating levels of estradiol increased in females exposed to 5 mg/L of atrazine, showing that the inhibiting effect of atrazine on vitellogenin production was not related to a lower secretion of sexual steroids. Instead, some early stimulating effects of estradiol on vitellogenesis could have occurred, particularly in the hepatopancreas. On the other hand, atrazine caused a higher metabolic effort, in terms of lactate production, presumably triggered to provide the energy needed to face the unspecific stress produced by the herbicide. Lipid peroxidation was not affected by atrazine, but glutathione levels were significantly increased.

r去津是一种广泛使用的除草剂，已被分类为潜在的内分泌干扰物，尤其是对于淡水物种。在这项研究中，我们测试了阿特拉津可能通过卵黄蛋白原表达异常和激素合成影响小龙虾繁殖的假设。成年雌性小龙虾（Procambarus clarkii）在一个月内暴露于1或5 mg / L的阿特拉津。暴露结束后，收集卵巢，肝胰脏和血淋巴样本，用于分析卵黄蛋白原表达和类固醇激素水平。还取样卵巢组织以进行生化和组织学分析。我们的结果表明，暴露于at去津的小龙虾在卵巢和肝胰腺中的卵黄蛋白原表达较低，并且卵母细胞较小，并且在卵巢中的卵黄蛋白原含量降低。尽管有这些作用，暴露于5 mg / L阿特拉津的雌性动物体内雌二醇的循环水平仍增加，这表明阿特拉津对卵黄蛋白原产生的抑制作用与性类固醇的分泌减少无关。相反，可能发生了雌二醇对卵黄发生的一些早期刺激作用，特别是在肝胰腺中。另一方面，就乳酸产生而言，at去津引起了更高的代谢努力，据推测其被触发以提供面对除草剂产生的非特异性胁迫所需的能量。脂质过氧化不受阿特拉津的影响，但谷胱甘肽水平显着增加。