Abstract
Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a compound used in numerous daily use products and exposure to them has been related to disturbing effects on human and animal reproduction and the increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Because high levels of Cyp450s enzymes have been correlated with an increase in ROS, we treated third instar larvae of flare (flr3) and OR(R)-flare (OR(R)) strains (P0), that have inducible and high levels of Cyp450s enzymes, respectively, to search the in vivo effects of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2, 20 mM) treatments on development (total and daily emergence, sexual proportion) and reproductive parameters (total fecundity, reproductive performance, and fertility percentage) in D. melanogaster. In addition, the emergence of the F1 was tested to search for a putative hereditary effect. H2O2 did not alter the reproductive parameters but it modified development ones. Toluene (TOL, 10 mM), used as a positive control, affected significantly the development and reproductive traits with significant differences between the strains, confirming Cyp450s’ participation in TOL’s metabolism. DMSO, TOL’s solvent, altered the sexual proportion and the total fecundity. No effect was observed on the F1 in any of the traits studied. Our results agree with the concern that chronic exposure to these compounds could affect some development and reproductive processes in D. melanogaster. Keywords: oxidative stress, toxicity, cryoprotectant, chronic exposure.
