Effects of chlorpyrifos on in vitro sex steroid production and thyroid follicular development in adult and larval Lake Sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens.

Chlorpyrifos is a widely used organophosphate pesticide that has previously been shown to enter waterways in biologically relevant concentrations and has the potential to disrupt both thyroid hormone and sex steroid biosynthesis in vertebrates. Because gonadal maturation and larval development in Lake Sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens, potentially coincide with the application of chlorpyrifos we examined the effects of chlorpyrifos on both thyroid follicular development in larval Lake Sturgeon, and sex hormone synthesis in adult Lake Sturgeon. For the first time, the present study reports steroidogenesis from testicular and ovarian tissue in Lake Sturgeon using an established in vitro bioassay.