Vitellogenesis as a biomarker of endocrine disruption in the freshwater amphipod Hyalella azteca

The induction of vitellogenesis in Hyalella azteca for use as a biomarker for the detection of environmental endocrine disruption was examined. SDS-PAGE performed on whole body homogenates of H. azteca revealed female-specific proteins of 200, 110 and 36 kDa. Like vitellogenin, these proteins stained as a glycolipophosphoprotein. Based on known sequences of vitellogenin of different invertebrate and vertebrate species, primers were constructed to identify vitellogenin in H. azteca by RT-PCR. With some primer combinations, fragments of 16920, 803 and 645 by were detected that only appeared using female RNA. Further study of these fragments may lead to the identification of (a) female specific gene(s) in H. azteca, which can serve as a template for the construction of specific probes for the detection of vitellogenesis in H. azteca by environmental endocrine disruptors.The induction of vitellogenesis in Hyalella azteca for use as a biomarker for the detection of environmental endocrine disruption was examined. SDS-PAGE performed on whole body homogenates of H. azteca revealed female-specific proteins of 200, 110 and 36 kDa. Like vitellogenin, these proteins stained as a glycolipophosphoprotein. Based on known sequences of vitellogenin of different invertebrate and vertebrate species, primers were constructed to identify vitellogenin in H. azteca by RT-PCR. With some primer combinations, fragments of 16920, 803 and 645 by were detected that only appeared using female RNA. Further study of these fragments may lead to the identification of (a) female specific gene(s) in H. azteca, which can serve as a template for the construction of specific probes for the detection of vitellogenesis in H. azteca by environmental endocrine disruptors.P