Chlordecone Contamination in Tropical Ecosystems
Summary
Chlordecone is a persistent organochlorine insecticide historically applied in tropical agriculture, notably in banana plantations of the French West Indies. Its exceptional chemical stability and strong sorption to organic-rich soils have led to long-term contamination of soils, sediments and watercourses. Residual chlordecone and its transformation products bioaccumulate in aquatic and terrestrial food webs, posing enduring risks to human and ecosystem health. Tropical climate and high rainfall enhance mobilisation of chlordecone from soils into surface and groundwater, with spatial variability governed by geology, soil type and land use. Chronic exposure has been linked to neurodevelopmental, endocrine and reproductive effects in local populations, necessitating integrated monitoring and remediation strategies.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Recent investigations have revealed epigenetic and microbial dimensions of chlordecone persistence and transformation. A transgenerational study in a murine model demonstrated that gestational exposure induces heritable alterations in sperm production, meiotic integrity and testicular gene regulation across three generations, implicating histone modification and altered transcriptional networks in reproductive impairment. Complementary work on microbial biotransformation uncovered a novel anaerobic pathway in Desulfovibrio sp.86: under sulphidic conditions the organism switches from classical ring-opening dechlorination to reductive sulfidation, producing thiol derivatives detectable in mangrove sediments. These findings illuminate both the long-range epigenetic impacts of chlordecone and the environmental relevance of microbial reductive sulfidation in tropical sediments.
Chlordecone Contamination in Tropical Ecosystems publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in chlordecone contamination in tropical ecosystems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Organochlorine pesticide: A class of chlorine-containing synthetic compounds known for environmental persistence and bioaccumulation.
Reductive dechlorination: A microbial or chemical process that removes chlorine atoms by reduction, often initiating pollutant breakdown.
Biotransformation: The chemical alteration of compounds by biological organisms, generating metabolites with different mobility or toxicity.
Physiologically based pharmacokinetic model: A compartmental mathematical framework simulating absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of chemicals in living organisms.
References
- Analysis of chlordecone and its transformation products in environmental waters by a new SPME-GC-MS method and comparison with LLE-GC-MS/MS and LLE-LC-MS/MS: A case study in the French West Indies. The Science of The Total Environment (2024).
- Prenatal and childhood chlordecone exposure, cognitive abilities and problem behaviors in 7-year-old children: the TIMOUN mother–child cohort in Guadeloupe. Environmental Health (2023).
- Gestational exposure to chlordecone promotes transgenerational changes in the murine reproductive system of males. Scientific Reports (2018).
- Transformation of the recalcitrant pesticide chlordecone by Desulfovibrio sp.86 with a switch from ring-opening dechlorination to reductive sulfidation activity. Scientific Reports (2020).
- A conceptual model of organochlorine fate from a combined analysis of spatial and mid- to long-term trends of surface and ground water contamination in tropical areas (FWI). Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (2019).
- Chlordecone: development of a physiologically based pharmacokinetic tool to support human health risks assessments. Archives of Toxicology (2022).
About these summaries
This Nature Research Intelligence Topic summary is created with the cited references and a large language model. We take care to ground generated text with facts, and have systems in place to gain human feedback on the overall quality of the process in line with our AI principles. We strive to create accurate and useful summaries for people unfamiliar with the research topic and that supports this goal. These pages are a beta release and will be updated as we learn how best to help people gain value from a research topic summary.
Turn complex research questions into confident strategic decisions
When you're under pressure to set direction, justify investment, or understand your competitive position, you need more than raw data — you need trusted insights you can act on.
Benchmark your performance against global peers using robust, methodologically sound analysis.
Combine quantitative metrics with qualitative expert insight to uncover strengths, gaps and emerging opportunities.
Gain tailored, decision-ready recommendations aligned to your strategic priorities.
Talk to us to learn more about our data dashboards and bespoke strategy reports.
Grow research skills, confidence and careers with training built for every stage of the research lifecycle.
Developed with Nature Portfolio journal Editors and internationally renowned experts. Discover three ways to learn:
Self-paced, online courses in convenient bite-sized units, covering key skills across scientific writing, publishing, grant writing, data analysis, and more.
Expert trainer-led workshops with hands-on exercises and real-time feedback across core research skills, delivered via interactive group sessions.
Editor-led workshops combining core principles in writing and publishing, personalised 1:1 feedback from Nature Portfolio Editors and hands-on exercises.
Explore course catalogues and workshop agendas, enquire about the options or request institutional pricing.