Journal of insect physiologyJun 19, 2016

Atrazine exposure changes lifespan, growth speed, and body size in fruit flies

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Updated Mar 29, 2026

Abstract

Atrazine exposure decreased the proportion pupated, the proportion emerged, and adult survival in Drosophila melanogaster.

Chronic exposure to atrazine affected various fitness traits in fruit flies, including longevity and development time.
Flies exposed to atrazine pupated and emerged earlier than those not exposed.
Higher concentrations of atrazine resulted in lower survival rates among adult flies.
Some exposed flies exhibited larger body sizes despite earlier development times.
Effects on female fertility and fecundity were observed in only one of the two experimental blocks.
Many traits displayed non-monotonic dose response curves, with intermediate concentrations showing the most pronounced effects.

Simplified

Atrazine is the one of the most widely used herbicides in the United States and non-target organisms may encounter it in the environment. Atrazine is known to affect male reproduction in both vertebrates and invertebrates but less is known about its effects on other fitness traits. Here we assessed the effects of five different chronic exposure levels on a variety of fitness traits in Drosophila melanogaster. We measured male and female longevity, development time, proportion pupated, proportion emerged, body size, female mating rate, fertility and fecundity. Atrazine exposure decreased the proportion pupated, the proportion emerged and adult survival. Development time was also affected by atrazine and exposed flies pupated and emerged earlier than controls. Although development time was accelerated, body size was actually larger in some of the exposures. Atrazine exposure had no effect on female mating rate and the effects on female fertility and fecundity were only observed in one of the two independent experimental blocks. Many of the traits showed non-monotonic dose response curves, where the intermediate concentrations showed the largest effects. Overall this study shows that atrazine influences a variety of life history traits in the model genetic system, D. melanogaster, and future studies should aim to identify the molecular mechanisms of toxicity.

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Atrazine exposure changes lifespan, growth speed, and body size in fruit flies

Abstract

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