Combined Exposure to Ecologically Relevant Concentrations of Atrazine and Microcystin Causes Morphological Changes in the Hepatopancreas of Crayfish.

ABSTRACT: Aquatic environments are contaminated through anthropogenic activities, leading to an increase in a variety of pollutants, including pesticides and algal toxins. The cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa produces the toxin microcystin with leucine and arginine (MC-LR) and is found in various freshwater environments. MC-LR causes liver and tissue damage in aquatic organisms. Atrazine is a commonly applied herbicide in the United States and is toxic following acute exposures. These toxins can often be found together in aquatic environments and thus may lead to combined toxicological effects; however, very little information is available regarding their cumulative effects on tissues such as the hepatopancreas (or liver). To examine the combined effects, we exposed crayfish (Faxonius virilis)

SUBMITTER: Reddy SG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12284762 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature