International Journal of Science and Technology (IJST)

Bisphenol A (BPA): An Endocrine Disruptor Affecting Behavior and Metamorphosis.

Contamination of environment by toxic pollutants has become commonly recognized as an environmental concern. These compounds are often present at low concentrations making them difficult to detect, while they cause ecological issues according to their nature (heavy metals, pesticides, endocrine disruptors, etc.). Therefore, ecotoxicity risks due to these chemicals can be evaluated using various protocols i.e. from cell-lines and microorganisms to plants, invertebrates and vertebrates. Most of them allow the detection of a phenotype, thus indicating a toxic effect and some of them can also highlight the modification of molecular actors involved in the toxic response. However, few animal models offer the opportunity to perform integrated study with multiple approaches, from molecular variations to physiological consequences. Drosophila melanogaster is a proven model organism in genetic and biology research in the past few years and can be considered as an emerging and suitable model to study toxicology and ecotoxicology. Drosophila has a short and well described development; reproduction and its maintenance does not require sophisticated equipment and are rather economical. Moreover, the fruit fly's development is under hormonal control making endocrine disruptors studies suitable in this model. Hence, to develop this “tool box” as an alternative model, this study was aimed to analyze the development and behavioural changes in Drosophila melanogaster to the exposure of bisphenol A (BPA).