Effects of Herbicide Atrazin on Oogenesis in Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

The aim was to investigate the effects of atrazin herbicide on oogenesis in zebrafish. In this investigation, the oogenesis in ovary of zebrafishes exposed to various concentration of atrazin (10, 100, 1000 ppm) for 14 days were assessed. The ovary samples were fixed in Bouin’s solution, mounted in parafin and cut into 5-7 μm-thick slices and then stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E). This assessment was performed based on histopathological study of ovary and the criteria such as number as well as diameter of mature and immature follicles. In addition the experimental data was analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and significant level was set at P < 0.05. This study showed that the concentration of 100 and 1000 µg/l of atrazine caused a significant increase (P < 0.05) in atretic oocyte in the tissue sections. In addition the diameter of follicles in different groups showed no significant difference. The results demonstrated that the oogenesis in ovary of zebrafish is affected by atrazin, which as a result, the numbers of atretic oocyte increased and finally can reduce the reproductive potential of the animal.