Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD BioMed Central
Résumé : International audience
BACKGROUND: Environmental factors such as pesticides can cause phenotypic changes in various organisms, including mammals. We studied the effects of the widely used herbicide atrazine (ATZ) on meiosis, a key step of gametogenesis, in male mice. METHODS: Gene expression pattern was analysed by Gene-Chip array. Genome-wide mapping of H3K4me3 marks distribution was done by ChIP-sequencing of testis tissue using Illumina technologies. RT-qPCR was used to validate differentially expressed genes or differential peaks. RESULTS: We demonstrate that exposure to ATZ reduces testosterone levels and the number of spermatozoa in the epididymis and delays meiosis. Using Gene-Chip and ChIP-Seq analysis of H3K4me3 marks, we found that a broad range of cellular functions, including GTPase activity, mitochondrial function and steroid-hormone metabolism, are affected by ATZ. Furthermore, treated mice display enriched histone H3K4me3 marks in regions of strong recombination (double-strand break sites), within very large genes and reduced marks in the pseudoautosomal region of X chromosome. CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrate that atrazine exposure interferes with normal meiosis, which affects spermatozoa production
ISSN: 1471-2164

hal-01225493
https://hal-univ-rennes1.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01225493
DOI : 10.1186/s12864-015-2095-y
PUBMED : 26518232