Abstract
Nitrate and atrazine (ATR) occur in combination in some drinking-water supplies and might react to form N-nitrosoatrazine (NNAT), which is reportedly more toxic than nitrate, nitrite, or ATR. Current evidence from population-based studies indicates that exposure to nitrate, nitrite, and nitrosatable compounds increases the risk of congenital defects and/or rate of embryo lethality. To test the hypothesis that NNAT induces malformations during embryogenesis, chicken embryos were examined for lethality and developmental abnormalities after treating fertilized eggs with 0.06-3.63 μg NNAT. After 5 d of incubation (Hamburger and Hamilton stage 27), 90% of embryos in NNAT-treated eggs were alive, of which 23% were malformed. Malformations included heart and neural-tube defects, caudal regression, gastroschisis, microphthalmia, anophthalmia, and craniofacial hypoplasia. The findings from this investigation suggest further studies are needed to determine the mechanisms underlying NNAT-induced embryotoxicity.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1015-1022 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health - Part A: Current Issues |
| Volume | 76 |
| Issue number | 17 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 2 2013 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Received 24 July 2013; accepted 1 August 2013. This study was supported by the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL), the College of Public Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center–Omaha, and U.S. Department of Agriculture multistate project W2082. Consultation for NNAT purification and confirmation analysis was provided by David Cassada of the UNL Water Sciences Laboratory. Address correspondence to Patrick J. Shea, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, School of Natural Resources, 102c KCR, Lincoln, NE 68583-0817, USA. E-mail: [email protected]
