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Transfer from ciliate to zebrafish: Unveiling mechanisms and combined effects of microplastics and heavy metals
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Researchers traced how microplastics and heavy metals transfer from tiny single-celled organisms (ciliates) up to zebrafish through the food chain, finding that combined exposure was more toxic than either pollutant alone. The pollutants accumulated at higher concentrations in fish than in the lower organisms, demonstrating biomagnification. This food chain transfer is relevant to human health because people eat fish that may have accumulated microplastics and heavy metals from their environment.
The impacts and toxicological mechanisms of microplastics (MPs) or heavy metals on aquatic ecosystems have been the subject of extensive research and initial understanding. However, the combined toxicity of co-pollutants on organisms and cumulative toxic effects along the food chain are still underexplored. In this study, the ciliate protozoan Paramecium caudatum and zebrafish Danio rerio were used to represent the microbial loop and the higher trophic level, respectively, to illustrate the progressive exposure of MPs and cadmium (Cd). The findings indicate that MPs (ca. 1 ×10 items/L) containing with Cd (below 0.1 µg/L) could permeate the bodies of zebrafish through trophic levels after primary ingestion by ciliates. This could cause adverse effects on zebrafish, including alterations in bioindicators (total sugar, triglycerides, lactate, and glycogen) associated with metabolism, delayed hepatic development, disruption of intestinal microbiota, DNA damage, inflammatory responses, and abnormal cellular apoptosis. In addition, the potential risks associated with the transfer of composite pollutants through the microbial loop into traditional food chain were examined, offering novel insights on the evaluation of the ecological risks associated with MPs. As observed, understanding the bioaccumulation and toxic effects of combined pollutants in zebrafish holds crucial implications for food safety and human health.
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Protozoan-mediated long-term trophic transfer of combined pollutants: Implications for organ development in higher-trophic-level predator
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Researchers used a zebrafish model to investigate how microplastics and cadmium are transferred through the food chain via protozoan organisms and their long-term combined effects on organ development. The study found that trophic transfer of these pollutants through protozoan intermediaries had synergistic impacts on the development of higher-trophic-level predators.
Trophic transfer of microplastics and mixed contaminants in the marine food web and implications for human health
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This review examines how microplastics move through marine food webs via trophic transfer and carry chemical contaminants that can accumulate in higher predators, including humans. Researchers found that microplastics readily sorb pollutants from surrounding waters and release them after being ingested by organisms, potentially amplifying toxic effects at each level of the food chain. The study underscores the need for more research on bioaccumulation factors and the implications of seafood-mediated microplastic exposure for human health.
Application of marine organisms at multi-trophic level to study the integrated biological responses induced by microplastics through food-chain
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Researchers used marine organisms across multiple trophic levels to study how microplastics move and accumulate through the food chain, finding that toxicological effects intensify at higher trophic levels due to bioaccumulation of plastic particles and associated chemical pollutants.
Biomagnification in Trophic Transfer: Mechanisms of Trans-Trophic Toxicity from Co-Contamination of Aged NPs and TBP in a Soil–Rye–Armyworm System
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Scientists found that tiny plastic particles (nanoplastics) can team up with a flame retardant chemical in soil, making crops like rye absorb more of both pollutants and grow less nutritious food. Even more concerning, when insects ate the contaminated rye, the flame retardant chemical became more concentrated in their bodies than in the plant itself—a process called biomagnification that could mean these pollutants build up as they move up the food chain toward humans. While this study used rye and armyworms rather than human subjects, it highlights how plastic pollution and industrial chemicals may combine to threaten food safety in ways scientists are
Trophic transfer of microplastics in zooplanktons towards its speculations on human health: A review
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This review examines how microplastics move through the ocean food chain, from tiny zooplankton at the base up through fish to humans, and what health effects may result. Trophic transfer means microplastics can concentrate as they move up the food web, increasing human dietary exposure.
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