ReviewThe Journal of steroid biochemistry and molecular biology2011
Demasculinization and feminization of male gonads by atrazine: consistent effects across vertebrate classes.
Review in The Journal of steroid biochemistry and molecular biology, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 89 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
89 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 357 citations in OpenAlex.
- Meta-analysis and experimental validation identified atrazine as a toxicant in the male reproductive system.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2021Pooled it
- Transgenerational epigenetic effects from male exposure to endocrine-disrupting compounds: a systematic review on research in mammals.Clinical epigenetics · 2020Pooled it
- Atrazine and pregnancy outcomes: a systematic review of epidemiologic evidence.Birth defects research. Part B, Developmental and reproductive toxicology · 2014Pooled it
- One Embryology: impactful connections between human- and wildlife-assisted reproduction.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2026Review
- An integrated experimental and computational systems biology analysis reveals molecular mechanisms underlying reproductive toxicity induced by manganese and atrazine.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026Article
- Abundance of atrazine degrading genes trzN versus atzA in soil cultures and in situ degradation rates.Pest management science · 2026Article
- Implications of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals for Human Health and Effective Methods for Prevention and Reduction.Toxics · 2026Review
- Addressing contaminants of emerging concern in the United States public water systems.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2026Article
- A Review on the Effects of Atrazine on Male Rat Reproductive System Cytoarchitecture, Steroidogenesis and Oxidative Pathway.Journal of molecular histology · 2026Review
- Non-invasive biomarkers of reproduction in individuals and populations of wild vertebrates.The Journal of reproduction and development · 2026Review
- Towards the One Exposome: harnessing artificial intelligence and digital health technologies across One Health toxicology, new approach methodologies, and environmental public health.Frontiers in public health · 2026Review
- Environmental Transgenerational Epigenetics: Effects on Fertility and Offspring Health.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- Reproductive Impact of Natural, Synthetic and Emerging Chemicals on Wildlife and Domestic Animals.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2026Review
- Atrazine Induces Reproductive Toxicity in anBiomedicines · 2025Article
- Review
- Acute exposure to groundwater contaminants mixture of nitrate, atrazine and imidacloprid impacts growth kinetics of poultry cecal microbiomes and significantly decreases Caco-2 cell viability.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- [Open experiment: QuEChERS combined with fluorescence derivatization for the detection of atrazine and its effect on enzyme activity].Se pu = Chinese journal of chromatography · 2025Article
- Amphibians and their impact on human reproduction research.F&S reports · 2025Article
- Assessing potential collateral effects on amphibians from insecticide applications for flea control and plague mitigation.PloS one · 2025Article
- Integrated Analysis of Neuroendocrine and Neurotransmission Pathways Following Developmental Atrazine Exposure in Zebrafish.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
29 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
22 authors at 15 institutions in 7 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Atrazine is the most commonly detected pesticide contaminant of ground water, surface water, and precipitation. Atrazine is also an endocrine disruptor that, among other effects, alters male reproductive tissues when animals are exposed during development. Here, we apply the nine so-called "Hill criteria" (Strength, Consistency, Specificity, Temporality, Biological Gradient, Plausibility, Coherence, Experiment, and Analogy) for establishing cause-effect relationships to examine the evidence for atrazine as an endocrine disruptor that demasculinizes and feminizes the gonads of male vertebrates. We present experimental evidence that the effects of atrazine on male development are consistent across all vertebrate classes examined and we present a state of the art summary of the mechanisms by which atrazine acts as an endocrine disruptor to produce these effects. Atrazine demasculinizes male gonads producing testicular lesions associated with reduced germ cell numbers in teleost fish, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals, and induces partial and/or complete feminization in fish, amphibians, and reptiles. These effects are strong (statistically significant), consistent across vertebrate classes, and specific. Reductions in androgen levels and the induction of estrogen synthesis - demonstrated in fish, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals - represent plausible and coherent mechanisms that explain these effects. Biological gradients are observed in several of the cited studies, although threshold doses and patterns vary among species. Given that the effects on the male gonads described in all of these experimental studies occurred only after atrazine exposure, temporality is also met here. Thus the case for atrazine as an endocrine disruptor that demasculinizes and feminizes male vertebrates meets all nine of the "Hill criteria".
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.