Analysis of Chromosome Aneuploidy in Sperm by Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization--a New Approach to the Study of Male Fertility in Environmental Exposures. Asclepios.

pered the study of genotoxic effects on human gametes. During the last decade, however, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with chromosome-specific probes has become a useful tool to study the chromosome number of human spermatozoa because it allows a large number of cells to be analyzed. The aim of this study was to analyze the chromosome number of sperm in semen samples of farmers exposed to fungicides. Fungicides, especially some carbamates, have been shown to produce aneuploidy in somatic cells (1). The samples were collected at a mobile laboratory in Denmark in February-May (preexposure) and in AugustSeptember (postexposure). The median time from the start of fungicide exposure to the second sample was 92 (range 56 128) days. The farmers answered a detailed questionnaire on both occasions by responding to questions related to their exposure to fungicides and to their personal habits (eg, smoking and alcohol consumption). A standard semen analysis was performed in the laboratory. A semen sample (300 [li) was frozen at -70°C and stored for the FISH analyses. Semen samples of the 34 most heavily exposed farmers were sent on dry ice to the laboratory in Finland. The samples were prepared as described earlier (2). Chromosome-specific probes for chromosomes 1 and 7 were used because they could be made in the laboratory and thus were economic for large-scale use. The chromosome 1 signal was detected with red fluorescence and the chromosome 7 signal with green, while the background nuclear staining was weak red. The slides were coded and examined in a fluorescence microscope