Rapid water sample screening for estrogenic activityusing live yeast cells

摘要

Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are substances that influence theendocrine system in living organisms. They include natural hormones, medicinaldrugs, chemical compounds in industry, and pesticides in agriculture. The substancesmay be present in water and wastewater, soil and sediments, or airborne.Our research is focused on the estrogenic EDCs, i.e. substances which mimic thenatural hormone estrogen produced by the body, and their occurrence and fate in thecontext of wastewater management. The primary contributors to estrogenic activitywastewater are 17β-estradiol, estrone, and 17on-ethinylestradiol. We are interested inreadily detecting and quantifying this estrogenic activity as a first step in the dailymanagement and reduction of estrogenic EDCs in wastewater before discharge intothe environment with effluent and biosolids.We report progress on a fluorescence assay for the presence of estrogenic activityin water samples using a living estrogen-sensitive yeast cell strain, and on a study ofresponses of living yeast cells to estrogen and alkylphenol exposure usingsynchrotron radiation-based Fourier Transform infrared spectromicroscopy (SRFTIR).The fluorescent response of the yeast allows for rapid sample screening, andthe SR-FTIR infrared spectrum is a measure of the overall in vivo yeast biochemicalresponse to the sample.