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2L (1) - Immunotoxicity - genotoxicity - ED (WE8/15) Establishing a zebrafish oligonucleotide array to quantify xenobiotic-induced alterations in gene expression. Paull, Gregory 1, Santos, Eduarda1, Kille, Peter2, Tyler, Charles1, 1 University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, UK2 University of Cardiff, Cardiff, Wales, UK ABSTRACT- It is now well established that a variety of natural and man-made chemicals released into both terrestrial and aquatic environments have had, and continue to have a deleterious impact on the reproductive success, development, and health in a wide range of wildlife species including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates. The disrupting influence of such chemicals appears to be most profound on the endocrine system of exposed organisms. In almost all cases however, reported cause - effect relationships between a physiological dysfunction and a single endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) are not proven. Often endocrine disruption results from exposure to mixtures of chemicals (including EDCs), and combination effects with other environmental stressors. We are focusing our attention on trying to elucidate the mechanisms of action of EDCs that disrupt reproductive function using a molecular approach. To do this we are in the process of synthesising an oligonucleotide microarray containing a suite of oligonucleotides for genes that are known to play central roles in reproduction in the zebrafish, Danio rerio. The development of such a 'reproductive' array will allow the simultaneous analysis of gene expression profiles for the suite of reproductive genes on exposure to EDCs. This presentation details the development and application of a zebrafish oligonucleotide array to study reproductive function/disruption. Key words: oligonucleotide microarray, endocrine disruption, zebrafish (Danio rerio), gene expression |
