AI Article Synopsis
- Microplastics are widespread pollutants posing significant risks to aquatic life, as they can be ingested by various organisms and carry harmful contaminants.
- The study found that microplastics and zinc interact in ways that affect the behavior and health of Daphnia magna, particularly impacting males more than females in terms of oxidative stress and detoxification gene activity.
- Results indicate that microplastics can enhance the toxicity of zinc in aquatic environments, illustrating the complex interactions between pollutants and their sex-specific effects on aquatic species.
Article Abstract
Microplastics are ubiquitous environmental pollutants and a great threat to the aquatic environment. Due to their small size (ranging from 1 µm to 5 mm), microplastics be easily ingested by a wide range of organisms and can serve as a vector for various contaminants. In this study, additive or possible synergistic effects of microplastics and zinc were demonstrated through sex-specific alterations in behavior, redox status, and modulation of detoxification-related genes in Daphnia magna, with males being more sensitive than females with stronger modulations of antioxidant responses, particularly on glutathione S-transferases expressions. Furthermore, we demonstrated microplastics may act as vectors for metals (Zn) in the aquatic environment in D. magna, with reduced bio-concentration of the total Zn concentration, inducing greater toxicity. Our findings demonstrated synergistic toxicity of the heavy metal Zn and microplastics and could contribute to greater understanding of sex-specific effects of microplastics in aquatic organisms.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.126652 | DOI Listing |
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