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The impact of chemical pollution across major life transitions: a meta-analysis on oxidative stress in amphibians
Summary
This meta-analysis of 86 studies found that chemical pollutants trigger different oxidative stress responses across amphibian life stages: embryos and larvae activate antioxidant defenses without showing oxidative damage, while adults exhibit both increased reactive oxygen species and antioxidant activation. The findings suggest that metamorphosis fundamentally changes how organisms respond to environmental contaminants, which is relevant to understanding how microplastics and their associated chemicals affect wildlife at different developmental stages.
Abstract Among human actions threatening biodiversity, the release of anthropogenic chemical pollutants -which have become ubiquitous in the environment- is a major concern. Chemical pollution can induce oxidative stress and damage by causing the overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and affecting the antioxidant system. In species undergoing metamorphosis (∼80% of all extant animal species), antioxidant responses to chemical pollution may differ between pre- and post-metamorphic stages. Here, we meta-analysed (N = 86 studies, k = 2,012 estimates) the impact of chemical pollution on the redox balance across the three major amphibian life stages (embryo, larva, adult). Before metamorphosis, embryos and larvae activate their antioxidant pathways and do not show increased oxidative damage. In contrast, post-metamorphic individuals show unnoticeable antioxidant responses, and a marked oxidative damage in lipids. Also, type of pollutant (i.e., organic vs inorganic) promotes contrasting effects across amphibian life stages. Our findings show a divergent evolution of the redox balance in response to pollutants across life transitions of metamorphosing amphibians, likely linked to the characteristics of each life stage. Further comparative mechanistic approaches to wildlife responses to global changes will improve our understanding of these eco-evo-devo processes.
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