Assessing Ecdysone Levels in Atorvastatin Treated Procambarus clarkii

Abstract

Commonly used medically prescribed drugs, like atorvastatin, are making their way into local water systems. Atorvastatin is a cholesterol-inhibiting drug in humans that blocks the mevalonate pathway in crayfish, potentially affecting ecdysone. The objective of this project was to investigate the effects of atorvastatin on ecdysone levels in the crayfish Procambarus clarkii. Crayfish were dosed with atorvastatin in the laboratory at concentrations ranging from 0.15 - 100μg/L, and ecdysone levels were measured using ELISA. A Kruskal-Wallis Test revealed no differences among dosing groups for ecdysone levels (p=0.610). However, sampling was only carried out at one time in the molt cycle. In future studies, sampling should be done at different times throughout the molt cycle to better understand the potential effects of atorvastatin on crayfish ecdysone.