Picture from MPCA
http://www.pca.state.mn.us/hot/frogs.html

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Background
Current Research
Annotated Bibliography
Other Links about Deformed Frogs

Nearly three years ago, a group of children on a school field trip in Minnesota discovered that some apparently pristine ponds were full of frogs with missing and deformed limbs. Even more alarming to developmental biologists, many of the frogs had numerous extra legs. Similar deformities have now been reported to occur throughout the northern states and Canada. David Gardiner has been working in collaboration with colleagues at other institutions in an effort to determine the cause of these abnormalities.  The pathways involved in development of an embryo are highly conserved among different animal species, and components of these pathways are used after development in the functioning of the adult.  Hence we have reason to be concerned that any agent in the water that can cause developmental defects in frogs is also a potential human teratogen and carcinogen.

The specific example of deformed frogs may be the tip of the iceberg in terms of the much larger issue of environmentally induced congenital defects.  In recent years it has become increasing evident that we are witnessing a large-scale decline in environmental quality that is a consequence of the activities of modern society.  It is well documented that there are synthetic chemical pollutants in the environment that function to disrupt hormone signaling, and thus have been implicated as causal agents associated with declining reproductive potential.  The issue of endocrine disruption has received increasing attention as evidenced by the creation of the USEPA's Endocrine Disrupter Screening and Testing Advisory Committee (EDSTAC), and a recent multi-agency call for research proposals in this area. Emphasis on this problem is urgently needed if we are to understand the potential threat developmental disrupters in the environment to both wildlife and to humans.

Current Research

Background

Annotated Bibliography

Other Links about Deformed Frogs

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