Bachelor of Science, Wittenberg University, 2021, Biology

Insecticide use is steadily increasing in the United States. Of these, the insecticide Sevin™ has the active ingredient carbaryl, which is a xenobiotic. This is a reverse inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase, which prevents nerve excitation causing paralysis and death in insects. Though insects are the target species, carbaryl has many routes of exposure such as run-off, inhalation, and physical contact making it easy to encounter for non-target species like aquatic life and humans. Carbaryl has been studied within in vitro models to test its effects on zebrafish. The insecticide has already been shown to act on the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) pathway, but it also has potential to act on a second pathway: the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) pathway. Zebrafish genes and genetic pathways are homologous to humans, allowing for insight on how carbaryl could be affecting humans as well. This study set out to use an in vivo model to show how carbaryl is inducing cytochrome P450 or other AhR pathway gene expression. Gene expression of carbaryl treated embryos were compared to untreated embryos to examine this possible relationship. Cyp1a and cyp1b gene expression was increased with an increase in carbaryl concentration suggesting that carbaryl may be causing induction of the AhR pathway.

Committee: Michelle McWhorter (Advisor); Matthew Collier (Committee Member); Daniel Marous (Committee Member) Subjects: Agricultural Chemicals; Biochemistry; Biology; Developmental Biology; Environmental Science; Genetics; Molecular Biology; Toxicology