Bisphenol A (BPA) is a high volume production chemical that is widely used in manufacturing polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins and is used in nearly every industry. The presence of BPA in consumer goods and its ability to leach into its surroundings after being discarded has an impact on human health (with known links to increased risks of obesity, genetic modification, and estrogen mimicry) and the environment. As with many other chemicals, rivers and lakes are the major sinks for BPA; therefore, the majority of data on the impact of BPA on wildlife come from studies on aquatic vertebrates, fish in particular and, to a lesser extent amphibians, with some available data also in reptiles and birds. We are interested in the effects of BPA on terrestrial plant species. We used Brassica rapa as our model organism. We hypothesized that BPA would affect the fitness of Brassica rapa, the Wisconsin Fast Plant. We chose this model species because it is a common phytoremediator, a plant commonly used to offset pollutants in soils and water sources. We exposed B. rapa to BPA in six concentrations (0.05mg/L - 50mg/L). We examined germination and growth rates.
Results/Conclusions
The effects of BPA on the germination and growth rates of B. rapa was studied through the rate of radical growth over a seven-day interval. The study also focused on radical size in the first 24hrs and after 7 days of growth. The resulting length data, collected every 24hrs showed slight variations between each treatment. From t-test results,we concluded that the 50 ppm and the control treatments had a significant difference between the mean lengths(t-value 2.11). The mean radical length of the BPA concentration is much lower than that of the control, suggesting that the BPA retarded the growth of the radical in the treatment population germinated in the 50 ppm. There was no significant difference with the other concentrations. The difference in radical growth rate suggests that BPA concentrations found in nature may have significant effects on all ecological communities from the autotrophs to all levels of the food chain. The study will continue with the further analysis of the rate of growth along with root hair appearance and true leaf appearance. Further studies can be done on the vegetative morphology, through the histological study of the tissue structure. Future studies will analyze reproductive fitness by counting seed production.