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Feeding, excretion, survival, and histological alterations in zebrafish Danio rerio from single and combined exposure to microplastics and copper
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Researchers exposed zebrafish to microplastics and copper individually and in combination over 14 days, finding that combined exposure caused the most severe histological damage across multiple organ systems including skin, gills, intestine, liver, and kidneys, while microplastic excretion rates declined over time and copper tissue levels were unaffected by co-exposure.
This study evaluated the risk of single and combined exposure to microplastics in zebrafish ( Danio rerio ) through biomarkers, such as survival rate, excretion rate, and histological alterations of organ systems. The experimental groups were the control (Cont.), single microplastics exposure group (MPs, 1.83%/fish total weight (g)), the copper group (Cu, 21.6 μg L -1 ), and a group with combined exposure to MPs and copper (MPs*Cu). The experiment was conducted with individual exposure (7 days) for MP excretion rate analysis and group exposure (14 days) for biomarker analysis. The daily excretion rate of MPs tended to decrease in a time-dependent manner. The copper concentration in the body was not significantly different between single and combined copper exposure. The degeneration of mucous cells in the skin, capillary dilation of the gill lamella, increased intestinal mucous, hepatocyte hypertrophy, and the degeneration of glomeruli and renal tubules were observed in all exposure groups. These histological alterations showed the highest tendency in the MPs*Cu group. In this study, the changes in biomarkers were attributed to the single effect of copper or the combined effect of copper and MPs rather than being solely influenced by MPs.
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