Mentor/s
Nicole Roy
Participation Type
Poster
Abstract
Di-butyl phthalate (DBP) is commonly added to make plastics softer and more pliable and is found in a variety of consumer and industrial products. Alarmingly high levels of DBP have been detected in water and sediment as DBP leaches from products. These levels are concerning and has led the Environmental Protection Agency to label DBP as a priority environmental pollutant and the European Commission to label DBP as a priority substance. Given the ubiquitous presence of DBP globally and continuous exposure to DBP, studies on the developmental toxicity of DBP are needed. There is a wealth of literature supporting the endocrine disrupting effects of DBP, but developmental toxicity of DBP during critical developmental time windows is understudied. Here, we investigate the developmental effects of DBP exposure during early development. We treated gastrula staged zebrafish embryos with concentrations of DBP that have been environmentally noted. We find defects in eye development including a decrease in the size of the lens and retina in DBP treated embryos, but the intraocular distance was increased compared to controls. Further investigation of eye development demonstrated loss of and disorganization of pax6 gene expression, a gene critical for proper eye development. Defects in vascular and neuronal patterning were also noted. Here we conclude that exposure to environmentally relevant doses of DBP during crucial time windows of embryonic development is toxic to eye development.
College and Major available
Biology
Location
University Commons
Start Day/Time
4-24-2019 2:00 PM
End Day/Time
4-24-2019 5:00 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Di-Butyl Phthalate (DBP) Induces Defects in Eye Development in Zebrafish
University Commons
Di-butyl phthalate (DBP) is commonly added to make plastics softer and more pliable and is found in a variety of consumer and industrial products. Alarmingly high levels of DBP have been detected in water and sediment as DBP leaches from products. These levels are concerning and has led the Environmental Protection Agency to label DBP as a priority environmental pollutant and the European Commission to label DBP as a priority substance. Given the ubiquitous presence of DBP globally and continuous exposure to DBP, studies on the developmental toxicity of DBP are needed. There is a wealth of literature supporting the endocrine disrupting effects of DBP, but developmental toxicity of DBP during critical developmental time windows is understudied. Here, we investigate the developmental effects of DBP exposure during early development. We treated gastrula staged zebrafish embryos with concentrations of DBP that have been environmentally noted. We find defects in eye development including a decrease in the size of the lens and retina in DBP treated embryos, but the intraocular distance was increased compared to controls. Further investigation of eye development demonstrated loss of and disorganization of pax6 gene expression, a gene critical for proper eye development. Defects in vascular and neuronal patterning were also noted. Here we conclude that exposure to environmentally relevant doses of DBP during crucial time windows of embryonic development is toxic to eye development.
Students' Information
Emily Orosco, Biology Major Chemistry Minor, 2019