Reproductive Effects of the Pharmaceutical Fluoxetine on Native Freshwater Mussels
Rebecca M. Heltsley1, W. Cope2, R. Bringolf2, C. Eads3, J. Kucklick1, W. MacCrehan4, Damian Shea2
1National Institute of Standards and Technology, Hollings Marine Laboratory, 331 Fort Johnson Rd., Charleston, SC, USA. 2Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA. 3College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA. 4National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 8392, Gaithersburg, MD, USA.
Recently, widespread occurrence of fluoxetine and other pharmaceuticals and
personal care products (PPCPs) has been reported in surface waters of the United States and elsewhere. However, impacts of these environmental PPCPs on aquatic
organisms are largely unknown. Fluoxetine is the active ingredient in the
prescription anti-depressant drug ProzacTM, which acts as a
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) to increase serotonin levels at
nerve synapses. Serotonin has previously been used to induce premature spawning
in some bivalves. To determine the potential of fluoxetine to disrupt native
freshwater mussel reproduction, gravid (carrying developing larva) adult female
eastern elliptio (Elliptio complanata) mussels were exposed to
fluoxetine at target concentrations of 0, 0.03, 0.3, 3.0, 30, 300, and 3000 
g/L
for 96 h in static-renewal tests. Serotonin was used as a positive control and
methiothepin, an inhibitor of serotonin pathways, as a confirmatory agent of
pathway effects. Time to reproductive glochidia (larval life stage of the
freshwater mussel) release, glochidia maturity and viability, and the number of
glochidia released (fecundity) were measured. Fluoxetine exposure
concentrations were analyzed by liquid chromatography/mass spectroscopy (LC-MS
and LC-MS-MS) to confirm exposure concentrations. Time to glochidial release
was variable among the fluoxetine treatment groups, but was generally inversely
related to exposure concentration. No glochidia were released by mussels in the
control group in < 72 h; however, some mussels in each fluoxetine treatment,
including low, environmentally relevant concentrations, released glochidia in
< 24 hours. The average number of glochidia released was variable, but was
generally positively correlated with fluoxetine exposure concentration.
Released glochidia were predominantly immature, indicating that fluoxetine
induced spawning in gravid mussels which could be potentially devastating to
localized mussel populations.
Contact Information: Mentor: William MacCrehan
Rebecca M. Heltsley NIST-CSTL 839.02
NIST-CSTL-839.02 100 Bureau Dr. Mail Stop 8392
Hollings Marine Laboratory Gaithersburg , MD 20899-8392
331 Fort Johnson Rd. Office: 301-975-3122
Charleston, SC 29412 Fax: 301-977-0685
Office: 843-762-8993 William.maccrehan@nist.gov
Fax: 843-762-8742
I am not a member of Sigma Xi
Category: Chemistry