On March 24, 2015 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) published a news release reporting on a new study showing that exposure to bisphenol A (BPA, CAS 80-05-7) or the synthetic estrogen ethinyl estradiol (EE2, CAS 57-63-6) affects reproduction in future generations of fish. In the study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports, researchers from the USGS and the University of Missouri, U.S. exposed Japanese rice fish, or Medaka, to BPA and EE2 for one week during embryonic development. Subsequent generations were not exposed. The findings show a 30% decrease in the fertilization rate of fish two generations after exposure and a 20% reduction after three generations. The results clearly demonstrate that even though endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may not affect the life of the exposed fish, it may negatively affect future generations, said the study’s first author Ramji Bhandari. The study examined effects of BPA and EE2 at concentrations not expected to be found in most environmental situations. However, EDCs can have effects at low doses. Therefore, concerns remain that adverse reproductive effects can be passed to future generations even at lower levels than tested.
Read more
USGS (March 24, 2015). “Laboratory study shows future generations of fish affected by endocrine disruptor exposure.”
Reference
Bhandari, R.K. et al. (2015). “Transgenerational effects from early developmental exposures to bisphenol A or 17α-ethinylestradiol in medaka, Oryzias latipes.” Scientific Reports 5: 9303.
