Professor Vance L. Trudeau holds the University of Ottawa Research Chair in Neuroendocrinology and leads a team of dynamic graduate students with wide interests. His group’s research is directed towards understanding how the vertebrate brain regulates anterior pituitary hormones that control sexual development and reproduction using fish and frog models. Applications of this basic research include spawning induction methods for endangered animals, among others. One of the most compelling recent discoveries is the fundamental role of a peptide called secretoneurin. We have made the proposal that it is a new reproductive hormone. The team also studies the effects of sex steroids and pollutants (pharmaceuticals, pesticides, petroleum products) on development and reproduction in fish and frogs. This concept is called endocrine disruption. This has important implications for environmental and human health because many of these hormonal systems are conserved across species. This means that what is discovered in one species, has major implications in other vertebrate, including humans.

Selected recent publications

  • Mitchell K, Zhang WS, Lu C, et al. Targeted mutation of secretogranin-2 disrupts sexual behavior and reproduction in zebrafish. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020;117(23):12772-12783. doi:10.1073/pnas.2002004117
  • Trudeau VL, Thomson P, Zhang WS, Reynaud S, Navarro-Martin L, Langlois VS. Agrochemicals disrupt multiple endocrine axes in amphibians. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2020;513:110861. doi:10.1016/j.mce.2020.110861
  • Trudeau VL, Somoza GM. Multimodal hypothalamo-hypophysial communication in the vertebrates. Gen Comp Endocrinol. 2020;293:113475. doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2020.113475
  • Feng K, Cui X, Song Y, et al. Gnrh3 Regulates PGC Proliferation and Sex Differentiation in Developing Zebrafish. Endocrinology. 2020;161(1):bqz024. doi:10.1210/endocr/bqz024
  • Vera-Chang MN, St-Jacques AD, Lu C, Moon TW, Trudeau VL. Fluoxetine Exposure During Sexual Development Disrupts the Stress Axis and Results in Sex- and Time- Dependent Effects on the Exploratory Behavior in Adult Zebrafish Danio rerio. Front Neurosci. 2019;13:1015. Published 2019 Sep 19. doi:10.3389/fnins.2019.01015
  • Clulow J, Upton R, Trudeau VL, Clulow S. Amphibian Assisted Reproductive Technologies: Moving from Technology to Application. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2019;1200:413-463. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-23633-5_14
  • Gutierrez-Villagomez JM, Peru KM, Edington C, Headley JV, Pauli BD, Trudeau VL. Naphthenic Acid Mixtures and Acid-Extractable Organics from Oil Sands Process-Affected Water Impair Embryonic Development of Silurana (Xenopus) tropicalis. Environ Sci Technol. 2019;53(4):2095-2104. doi:10.1021/acs.est.8b04461
  • Vera-Chang MN, St-Jacques AD, Gagné R, et al. Transgenerational hypocortisolism and behavioral disruption are induced by the antidepressant fluoxetine in male zebrafish Danio rerio. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018;115(52):E12435-E12442. doi:10.1073/pnas.1811695115
  • Trudeau VL. Facing the Challenges of Neuropeptide Gene Knockouts: Why Do They Not Inhibit Reproduction in Adult Teleost Fish?. Front Neurosci. 2018;12:302. doi:10.3389/fnins.2018.00302
  • Tao B, Hu H, Mitchell K, et al. Secretogranin-II plays a critical role in zebrafish neurovascular modeling. J Mol Cell Biol. 2018;10(5):388-401. doi:10.1093/jmcb/mjy027
  • Da Fonte DF, Martyniuk CJ, Xing L, Trudeau VL. Secretoneurin A Directly Regulates the Proteome of Goldfish Radial Glial Cells In Vitro. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2018;9:68. doi:10.3389/fendo.2018.00068
  • Empey MA, Lefebvre-Raine M, Gutierrez-Villagomez JM, Langlois VS, Trudeau VL. A Review of the Effects of the Biopesticides Bacillus thuringiensis Serotypes israelensis (Bti) and kurstaki (Btk) in Amphibians. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 2021 May;80(4):789-800. doi: 10.1007/s00244-021-00842-2.
  • Silla AJ, Calatayud NE, Trudeau VL. Amphibian reproductive technologies: approaches and welfare considerations. Conserv Physiol. 2021 Mar 16;9(1):coab011. doi: 10.1093/conphys/coab011.
  • Mitchell K, Mikwar M, Da Fonte D, Lu C, Tao B, Peng D, Erandani WKCU, Hu W, Trudeau VL. Secretoneurin is a secretogranin-2 derived hormonal peptide in vertebrate neuroendocrine systems. Gen Comp Endocrinol. 2020 Dec 1;299:113588. doi: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2020.113588.
  • Somoza GM, Mechaly AS, Trudeau VL. Kisspeptin and GnRH interactions in the reproductive brain of teleosts. Gen Comp Endocrinol. 2020 Nov 1;298:113568. doi: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2020.113568.
  • Mitchell K, Zhang WS, Lu C, Tao B, Chen L, Hu W, Trudeau VL. Targeted mutation of secretogranin-2 disrupts sexual behavior and reproduction in zebrafish. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020 Jun 9;117(23):12772-12783. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2002004117.
  • Trudeau VL, Thomson P, Zhang WS, Reynaud S, Navarro-Martin L, Langlois VS. Agrochemicals disrupt multiple endocrine axes in amphibians. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2020 Aug 1;513:110861. doi: 10.1016/j.mce.2020.110861.
  • Trudeau VL, Somoza GM. Multimodal hypothalamo-hypophysial communication in the vertebrates. Gen Comp Endocrinol. 2020 Jul 1;293:113475. doi: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2020.113475.
  • Gutierrez-Villagomez JM, Vázquez-Martínez J, Ramírez-Chávez E, Molina-Torres J, Trudeau VL. Profiling low molecular weight organic compounds from naphthenic acids, acid extractable organic mixtures, and oil sands process-affected water by SPME-GC-EIMS. J Hazard Mater. 2020 May 15;390:122186. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.122186.
  • Martinez R, Vera-Chang MN, Haddad M, Zon J, Navarro-Martin L, Trudeau VL, Mennigen JA. Developmental fluoxetine exposure in zebrafish reduces offspring basal cortisol concentration via life stage-dependent maternal transmission. PLoS One. 2019 Feb 21;14(2):e0212577. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0212577.
  • Vera-Chang MN, St-Jacques AD, Gagné R, Martyniuk CJ, Yauk CL, Moon TW, Trudeau VL. Transgenerational hypocortisolism and behavioral disruption are induced by the antidepressant fluoxetine in male zebrafish Danio rerio. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2018 Dec 26;115(52):E12435-E12442. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1811695115.