Intracellular Conversion of Environmental Nitrate and Nitrite to Nitric Oxide with Resulting Developmental Toxicity to the Crustacean Daphnia magna

摘要

BackgroundNitrate and nitrite (jointly referred to herein as NOx) are ubiquitous environmental contaminants to which aquatic organisms are at particularly high risk of exposure. We tested the hypothesis that NOx undergo intracellular conversion to the potent signaling molecule nitric oxide resulting in the disruption of endocrine-regulated processes.