The Impact of Synthetic Estrogen on the Gulf Pipefish Brood Pouch Transcriptome
Additional Funding Sources
The project described was supported by the Research Experience for Undergraduates Program Site: Molecular and organismal evolution at the University of Idaho under Award No. 1757826.
Presentation Date
7-2021
Abstract
Environmental endocrine disruptors are often present in rivers, lakes, and coastal waters, and can have a detrimental impact on the reproductive systems of aquatic organisms. While the phenotypic effects of endocrine disruptors are well-characterized, changes in the transcriptome remain largely unexplored. In order to examine the impact of an endocrine disruptor on gene expression in the sex-role-reversed Gulf pipefish, we analyzed the brood pouch transcriptomes of pregnant and non-pregnant males exposed to 5 ng/L of the synthetic estrogen 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) for 7 days. Though there were substantial differences in gene expression between pregnant and non-pregnant males, there were fewer differences between males that had been exposed to EE2 and those that had not. In other words, although chronic EE2 exposure is known to greatly impact brood pouch morphology and function, the changes in the brood pouch transcriptome as a result of short-term EE2 exposure are relatively subtle.
The Impact of Synthetic Estrogen on the Gulf Pipefish Brood Pouch Transcriptome
Environmental endocrine disruptors are often present in rivers, lakes, and coastal waters, and can have a detrimental impact on the reproductive systems of aquatic organisms. While the phenotypic effects of endocrine disruptors are well-characterized, changes in the transcriptome remain largely unexplored. In order to examine the impact of an endocrine disruptor on gene expression in the sex-role-reversed Gulf pipefish, we analyzed the brood pouch transcriptomes of pregnant and non-pregnant males exposed to 5 ng/L of the synthetic estrogen 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) for 7 days. Though there were substantial differences in gene expression between pregnant and non-pregnant males, there were fewer differences between males that had been exposed to EE2 and those that had not. In other words, although chronic EE2 exposure is known to greatly impact brood pouch morphology and function, the changes in the brood pouch transcriptome as a result of short-term EE2 exposure are relatively subtle.