Mancozeb exposure in vivo impairs mouse oocyte fertilizability

Mancozeb is known to alter reproductive performance in exposed animals, but its specific mechanism of action is still unclear. We investigated whether in female mice of the F1 generation, mancozeb could affect oocyte ability to undergo complete meiotic maturation and fertilization. Female mice were treated with 50 and 500 mg/kg of mancozeb (or vehicle in the controls) from gestational day 2 to postnatal day 20. Results demonstrated that only at the highest dose, mancozeb induced a significant decrease in the number of ovulated eggs. Moreover, at this dose mancozeb caused a significant decrease of fertilizability related to a reduction of the formation of male and female pronuclei. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.