V. Burgatsacaze et al., SUBLETHAL INCIDENCE OF POLLUTANTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT - THE DDT EXAMPLE, Revue de Medecine Veterinaire, 144(6), 1993, pp. 515-522
By interacting with various reproduction events, pesticides have been
involved in the rarefaction of some birds species, among which mainly
predators. The role played by the DDT, regarded here as a model, is re
viewed as an illustration of the organism's targets diversity. Multipl
e effects of DDT on reproduction are tightly associated with complex h
ormonal modifications. Eggshell fragilization is one of the best known
consequences. Furthermore, biocumulative properties of DDT can explai
n both many other ill-effects and the fact that prey birds act as priv
ileged targets. This toxicokinetical aspect is illustrated here by the
14C-DDT kinetics in the japanese quail (coturnix coturnix japonica) t
hat shows by the mean of autoradiography that the compound can be tran
sfered from the maternal organism to the chick. At this time, the mole
cular aspect of DDT action remains partly unclear but anyway the withd
rawal of organochlorine insecticides eppears fully justified. Though t
he risks of this kind of compounds are nowadays significantly decrease
d, they should always be carefully considered in case of : (i) Handlin
g for the purpose of toxicological studies (ii) Use as pesticides (iii
) Toxicological survey programs involving wild birds.