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Multigenerational effects of co-exposure to dimethylarsinic acid and polystyrene microplastics on the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans
Summary
Researchers found that co-exposure to dimethylarsinic acid and polystyrene microplastics across five generations of C. elegans nematodes caused cumulative harm, with microplastics reducing detoxification capacity and arsenic impairing growth more severely than either pollutant alone.
In the current study, we assessed the impact of DMA (dimethylarsinic acid) and MPs (microplastics) interactions in C. elegans over the course of five generations. We found that the redox state of the organisms changed over generations as a result of exposure to both pollutants. From the third generation onward, exposure to MPs reduced GST activity, indicating reduced detoxifying abilities of these organisms. Additionally, dimethylarsinic exposure decreased the growth of organisms in the second, fourth, and fifth generations. In comparison to isolated pollutants, the cumulative effects of co-exposure to DMA and MPs seem to have been more harmful to the organisms, as demonstrated by correlation analysis. These findings demonstrate that DMA, despite being considered less hazardous than its inorganic equivalents, can still have toxic effects on species at low concentrations and the presence of MPs, can worsen these effects.