Meeting Abstract
Many herbicides, including atrazine (ATR), are known to have long-term adverse effects on aquatic organisms. These include death, decreased fecundity, DNA damage and changes in behavior and physiology. It is of interest to quantify how ATR accumulates in aquatic organisms in order to assess long-term cellular effects and if recovery is possible. We developed a method to quantify the amount of ATR in the hepatopancreas of the virile crayfish (Orconectes virilis). Crayfish were treated at different environmentally-relevant (80 and 300 ppb) and control concentrations 0 ppb (negative control) and 1000 ppb ATR (positive control) for 15 days. Following exposure, the hepatopancreas was removed. ATR was extracted from the hepatopancreas using a quick, easy, cheap and effective (QuEChERS) method. Following the extraction, the ATR recovery was analyzed using liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy (LC-MS). The LC-MS method allows for the analysis of ATR and its metabolites. A standard solution of ATR was prepared and analyzed using LC-MS. The amount of ATR in the tissue was determined by using the standard curve of ATR (range – 5-5000 ppb). Additionally, histological changes in the hepatopancreas, including increased vacuolization, were visualized following sectioning and staining with hematoxylin and eosin. Increases in hepatopancreatic vacuoles may indicate that ATR is actively being metabolized and removed from the body.
