Project Title
Abstract/Description
Organic waste compounds (OWC’s) are an environmental concern that can have adverse effects on humans, animals, and the environment. Ethinyl estradiol (EE2) is one common OWC and is an active ingredient in oral birth control pills. The presence of EE2 in aquatic environments and drinking water can be linked to decreased fertility and altered physiology in fish. I am developing Q-PCR biomarkers to detect changes in fish at low concentrations before adverse effects occur at higher concentrations. RNA was extracted from twenty fathead minnows that had not been exposed to OWC’s and will be used to synthesize cDNA. Thus far I have tested Q-PCR primers to measure vitellogenin RNA transcription. A standard curve and melt curve demonstrated proper amplification of a single product. A 96 hour exposure of 40 fathead minnows was conducted using EE2 at 0, 3, 17 and 100ng/L. Three 96 hour exposures of triclosan using 36 fathead minnows was conducted at 0, 0.1, 1 ug/L. Livers were dissected from the fish and are currently stored in the -80°C freezer to be used in the future.
Recommended Citation
Frare, Tara
(2011).
Development of Biomarkers for Endocrine Disrupting Compounds in the Fathead Minnow, Pimephales promelas.
Undergraduate Review, 7, 45-48.
Available at: https://vc.bridgew.edu/undergrad_rev/vol7/iss1/11
Rights Statement
Articles published in The Undergraduate Review are the property of the individual contributors and may not be reprinted, reformatted, repurposed or duplicated, without the contributor’s consent.
Included in
Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Commons, Environmental Chemistry Commons