Author(s): Rachel M. Campbell , Levi A. Smith , Melissa A. Pickett , Justin T. Martin , Elizabeth J. Hulse , Spencer S. Smith

Presentation: oral

In recent years, toxins have been introduced to the environment through human activity. Xenobiotics pose a serious threat to the physiological health of humans and animals. Many environmental toxins have been observed in past studies to disrupt normal endocrine system function in the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). Yet to be fully understood are the affects of xenobiotics on alligators at different life stages as well as the permanence of contaminant exposure. The affects of xenobiotics on the physiology of American alligators can be examined through the observation of the biomarkers metallothionein (MT), a cysteine-rich protein that sequesters heavy metals; lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), an integral enzyme in glycolysis; glutathione-s-transferase (GST), a detoxification enzyme; and catalase (CAT), a protein that transforms hydrogen peroxide produced due to oxidative stress. These biomarkers were observed in developmental, juvenile, and adult alligator livers over the last three years. Samples were gathered from two lakes in Florida: Lake Woodruff (a known reference lake) and Lake Apopka (a lake with known contamination). The results reported in this study suggest that xenobiotics found in Lake Apopka may be acting as hormonal mimics and changing the physiology of the alligators at the life stages observed.

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