Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Texas
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Environmental stressors such as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and globally rising temperatures can impact gonadal sex and gamete production in vertebrates. While data from our laboratories and others suggest that the action of these stressors in teleost fishes can be mediated by disruption of thyroid hormone, stress hormone and melatonin production pathways, the physiological-molecular mechanisms of these pathways and their interaction with the classical hypothalamus-pituitary-gonad (HPG) axis are not well understood. As part of this pilot study, we will gather available information on effects of EDCs and thermal stress on thyroid and melatonin signaling in teleosts. The information generated will be used to develop review articles, and to develop grant proposals to pursue original research. Results of this project are relevant to an assessment of the impacts of EDCs and global warming on reproductive health of wild fishes. In addition, a better understanding of environmental stressor effects on sex differentiation and gametogenesis may bring new options for improving current aquaculture technologies.