Accumulation of Nanoplastics in Biomphalaria glabrata Embryos and Transgenerational Developmental Effects

(1) Background: Nanoplastics (NPs) are emerging environmental pollutants with potential toxic effects on aquatic organisms. This study investigates the toxicity of NPs in Biomphalaria glabrata, a freshwater snail species widely used as a bioindicator species in ecotoxicology studies.; (2) Methods: We exposed three generations (F0-F2) of B. glabrata snail embryos to different sizes of polystyrene NPs and assessed responses.; (3) Results: summarize the article’s main findings; (4) Conclusions: We observed severe effects on F0 to F2 B. glabrata embryos, including size-dependent (30 to 500 nm) increases in mortality rates, size and dosage-dependent (1 to 100 ppm) effects on hatching rates, and concentration-dependent toxicity in the 30 nm NP treatment group. The F2 generation embryos appear to be most responsive to detoxification (CYP450) and pollutant me-tabolism (HSP70) at 48-hours-post-treatment (HPT), while our developmental marker (MATN1) was highly upregulated at 96-HPT. We also report a particle-size-dependent correlation in HSP70 and CYP450 mRNA expression, as well as enhanced upregulation in the offspring of NP treated snails. These findings indicate that F2 generation embryos appear to exhibit increased stress from toxic substances inherited from F1 and F0. This study provides valuable insights into the impact of plastic particulate pollution on multiple generations and highlights the importance of monitoring and mitigating plastic waste.