Manure as Nonylphenol and Estradiol Promotes the Extrahepatic Synthesis of Vitellogenin in the Testis of a Terrestrial Vertebrate, the Lizard Podarcis sicula

In manure, the endocrine disruptors may have a dual source: as natural metabolites of the steroidal hormones present in the manure deposed by farm animals or of synthetic origin as the alkylphenols used for a variety of applications and consumer products. In particular, the EDC with estrogen-like activity cause a number of issues mainly related to the male fertility. This study aims to ascertain if an estrogenic environment is able to induce male gonad of the lizard Podarcis sicula to the synthesize Vitellogenin (VTG), the main biomarker of estrogenic exposure. From our investigations of in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry emerges that VTG gene is transcribed and translated in the testis of lizards collected in organic farming where the manure is the unique fertilizer used and in the samples fed with food experimentally polluted by an estrogen-like substance i.e. nonylphenol. The same findings are recorded after the injection of estradiol-17β.