Does contaminant exposure disrupt maternal hormones deposition? A study on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in an Arctic seabird

• Published in: Science of The Total Environment
• Main Authors: Jouanneau, William, Léandri-Breton, Don-Jean, Herzke, Dorte, Moe, Børge, Nikiforov, Vladimir, A, Pallud, Marie, Parenteau, Charline, Gabrielsen, Geir, W, Chastel, Olivier
• Other Authors: Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC), La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Norwegian Polar Institute, Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University = Université McGill Montréal, Canada, Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2023
• Subjects: Black-legged kittiwake; PFAS; Maternal effect; Corticosterone; Testosterone; Thyroid hormones; [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Arctic; Black-legged Kittiwake; rissa tridactyla
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-04133716; https://hal.science/hal-04133716/document; https://hal.science/hal-04133716/file/Jouanneau_Maternal_hormones_PFAS.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161413

International audience Maternal effects are thought to be essential tools for females to modulate offspring development. The selective depositionof avianmaternal hormones could therefore allowfemales to strategically adjust the phenotype of their offspringto the environmental situation encountered. However, at the time of egg formation, several contaminants are alsotransferred to the egg, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) which are ubiquitous organic contaminantswith endocrine disrupting properties. It is, however, unknown if they can disruptmaternal hormone deposition.In this study we explored relationships between female PFAS burden and maternal deposition in the eggs of steroids(dihydrotestosterone, androstenedione and testosterone), glucocorticoids (corticosterone) and thyroid hormones(triiodothyronine and thyroxine) in a population of the Arctic-breeding black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla). Eggyolk hormone levels were unrelated to female hormone plasma levels. Second-laid eggs had significantly lowerconcentrations of androstenedione than first-laid eggs. Triiodothyronine yolk levels were decreasing with increasingegg mass but increasing with increasing females' body condition. Testosterone was the only transferred yolk hormonecorrelated to maternal PFAS burden: specifically, we found a positive correlation between testosterone in yolks andcirculating maternal perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDcA) and perfluoroundecanoic acid(PFUnA) in first-laid eggs. This correlative study provides a first insight into the potential of some long-chainperfluoroalkyl acids to disrupt maternal hormones deposition in eggs and raises the question about the consequencesof increased testosterone deposition on the developing embryo.