Alice Baynes

• PhD
• Division Lead at Brunel University London

Endocrine disruption of wild fish, primarily resulting in the feminization of males, has been reported in English river sites for several decades. Estrogenic activity emanating from wastewater treatment works (WwTW) has been conclusively demonstrated to be the main driver of these feminized phenotypes. Here, we revisit 10 English river sites previo...

Background The environmental prevalence of widely prescribed human pharmaceuticals that target key evolutionary conserved biomolecules present across phyla is concerning. Antidepressants, one of the most widely consumed pharmaceuticals globally, have been developed to target biomolecules modulating monoaminergic neurotransmission, thus interfering...

Experimental exposures aimed at assessing the risks posed by estrogens in waste-water treatment work (WwTW) effluents to fish populations have rarely considered whether populations differ in their sensitivity to estrogenic compounds. This is despite evidence that selection at genes involved in the estrogen response has occurred in wild populations,...

The presence of plastic cosmetic microbeads in the environment due to their extensive use in society and inevitable dispersal into wastewater is concerning. Therefore, it is vital to understand the processes of microplastic uptake and elimination by aquatic organisms, and to further assess their potential to cause harmful effects and wider impacts....

Exposure of male fish to estrogenic substances from wastewater treatment works (WwTWs) results in feminization and reduced reproductive fitness. Nevertheless, self-sustaining populations of roach (Rutilus rutilus) inhabit river stretches polluted with estrogenic WwTW effluents. In this study, we examine whether such roach populations have evolved a...

To harmonise vertebrate OECD Test Guidelines for endocrine disruption testing between mammalian and non‐mammalian test species, additional Estrogen, Androgen, Thyroid and Steroidogenesis (EATS) modality endpoints in non‐mammalian models need to be assessed. These would mean for example the addition of hormonal measurements in fish, birds and amphib...

In vertebrates, the steroidogenesis enzyme 5α-reductase converts testosterone to the more potent androgen 5α-dihydrotestosterone. Homologues of 5α-reductase genes have been identified in molluscs. However, recent findings suggest that vertebrate-type steroid androgens are not utilised in molluscan reproductive development. Genomic searches have rev...

Endocrine Disrupting Compounds pose a substantial risk to the aquatic environment. Ethinylestradiol (EE2) and estrone (E1) have recently been included in a watch list of environmental pollutants under the European Water Framework Directive. Municipal wastewater treatment plants are major contributors to the estrogenic potency of surface waters. Muc...

Scientific research suggests that exposure to man-made chemicals in our environment may be playing an important role in disease because some chemicals can weaken the immune system and increase susceptibility to infections and disease.

A stakeholder event was run in November 2013 (Leeds, UK) for Environment Agency fisheries staff, Institute of Fisheries Managers members, water industry staff and fisheries/rivers charity members to inform them about the ongoing research in the area of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and wild fish. The aim was to engage and discuss the issues...

Gastropod mollusks have been proposed as alternative models for male reproductive toxicity testing, due to similarities in their reproductive anatomy compared to mammals, together with evidence that endocrine disrupting chemicals can cause effects in some mollusks analogous to those seen in mammals. To test this hypothesis, we used the freshwater p...

Regression of shell diameter against total body weight from A) MT or B) DHT exposures. Significant positive correlation between snail size (shell diameter, mm) and weight (g, Square root transformed) was seen in both treatments. Each snail is represented on the graph; Dilution Water control (DWC)—blue diamonds, Solvent Control (SC)—red diamonds, 62...

Photomicrographs of representative of ovotestis (OT) from B. glabrata developmental exposed to Dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Representative photomicrographs; A) from dilution water control (DWC), B) solvent control (SC), C) 62.5 ng/L MT, D) 125 ng/L MT, and E) 500 ng/L MT. (250ng/L treatment excluded due to high mortality) Oo: Oocyte; Ser: Sertoli cel...

Tables of descriptive data and statistical analysis for B. glabrata from the Methyltestosterone study. (PDF)

Annotated photograph of reproductive tract in B. glabrata. At the distal end of the final whorl in B. glabrata, is the ovotestis that leads into the hermaphrodite duct then to the carrefour where fertilization occurs. Albumen gland (red circle) is the female accessory reproductive gland that pours its secretions into the carrefour, providing nutrit...

Photomicrographs of B. glabrata reproductive tissues from stock snails (non-exposed) for comparison of fixation methods. Albumen gland (A-B), Glandular complex (C-D), and Ovotestis (E-F) preserved in either Bouin’s fixative (A, C, E) or in RNAlater followed by Bouin’s fixative (B, D, F). RNAlater fixation in both glandular tissues and ovotestis res...

Photomicrographs of representative albumen gland (AG) from B. glabrata developmental exposed to Methyltestosterone (MT). Representative photomicrographs; A) from dilution water control (DWC), B) Solvent control (SC), C) 62.5 ng/L MT, D) 125 ng/L MT, E) 250 ng/L MT and F) 500 ng/L MT. Scale bar 100 μm in each case. The AG in B. glabrata consists of...

Photomicrographs of representative glandular complex (GC) from B. glabrata developmental exposed to Dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Representative photomicrographs; A) from dilution water control (DWC), B) solvent control (SC), C) 62.5 ng/L MT, D) 125 ng/L MT, and E) 500 ng/L MT (250ng/L treatment excluded due to high mortality). Scale bar 100 μm in eac...

Photomicrographs of representative albumen gland (AG) from B. glabrata developmental exposed to Dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Representative photomicrographs; A) from dilution water control (DWC), B) Solvent control (SC), C) 62.5 ng/L DHT, D) 125 ng/L DHT and F) 500 ng/L DHT. (250ng/L treatment excluded due to high mortality) Scale bar 100 μm in each...

Photomicrographs of representative glandular complex (GC) from B. glabrata developmental exposed to Methyltestosterone (MT). Representative photomicrographs; A) from dilution water control (DWC), B) solvent control (SC), C) 62.5 ng/L MT, D) 125 ng/L MT, E) 250 ng/L MT and F) 500 ng/L MT. Scale bar 100 μm in each case. GC comprises of mucous gland,...

Photomicrographs of representative of ovotestis (OT) from B. glabrata developmental exposed to Methyltestosterone (MT). Representative photomicrographs; A) from dilution water control (DWC), B) solvent control (SC), C) 62.5 ng/L MT, D) 125 ng/L MT, E) 250 ng/L MT and F) 500 ng/L MT. Oo: Oocyte; Ser: Sertoli cell; Spg: Spermatogonia; Spd: Spermatid;...

Tables of descriptive data and statistical analysis for B. glabrata from the Dihydrotestosterone study. (PDF)

17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), a synthetic oestrogen in oral contraceptives, is one of many pharmaceuticals found in inland waterways worldwide as a result of human consumption and excretion into wastewater treatment systems. At low parts per trillion (ppt), EE2 induces feminisation of male fish, diminishing reproductive success and causing fish popul...

A growing number of environmental contaminants are thought to have endocrine disrupting properties, many of which elicit androgenic (A) or anti-androgenic responses (AA). The rodent Hershberger assay (HA) is the gold standard tests in the development of A/AA pharmacuticals. The HA and other mammalian assays (including pubertal assays to detect deve...

Amphibians are declining and fertility/fecundity are major drivers of population stability. The development of non-destructive methods to assess reproductive health are needed as destructive measures are fundamentally at odds with conservation goals for declining species. We investigated the utility of body size, nuptial pad size and forelimb width...

Ethinylestradiol (EE2), a key pharmaceutical ingredient in oral contraceptives, is capable of feminising male fish at low ng/l concentrations and is one of several pharmaceuticals present at biologically active concentrations in surface waters worldwide; due to its incomplete removal during wastewater treatment. While advanced wastewater treatment...

Oestrogenic contaminants are thought to be the major cause of feminisation (intersex) in wild fish populations. The major oestrogenic contaminants; oestrone (E1),17β-oestradiol (E2) and the contraceptive pill hormone 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), enter the aquatic environment via wastewater treatment works following human excretion. Widely used waste...

Steroid estrogens are thought to be the major cause of feminization (intersex) in wild fish. Widely used wastewater treatment technologies are not effective at removing these contaminants to concentrations thought to be required to protect aquatic wildlife. A number of advanced treatment processes have been proposed to reduce the concentrations of...

Whilst the effects of oestrogenic contaminants in the aquatic environment are well documented in fish, effects in invertebrate species has been subject to debate, possibly due to differences in experimental conditions (temperature, timing and duration of exposure) between studies. It has been suggested that molluscs are only susceptible to oestroge...

Recent evidence suggests that molluscs may be sensitive to the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in a similar manner to vertebrates, such as fish. Despite this (with the exception of TBT-induced imposex in marine gastropods), molluscs have been largely overlooked in the field of endocrine disruption. Life-cycle studies were conducted...