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Paternal Inheritance Is an Important, but Overlooked, Factor Affecting the Adverse Effects of Microplastics and Nanoplastics on Subsequent Generations
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This review highlights that paternal exposure to microplastics and nanoplastics can transmit adverse effects to offspring through epigenetic inheritance, a pathway largely overlooked in multigenerational toxicity research. The authors call for greater focus on paternal transmission mechanisms to fully understand intergenerational risks.
Microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) are widely detected in food and the human environment. More studies have begun to pay attention to the influence of MPs and NPs on genetics; in particular, exposure of paternal generation to MPs and NPs on epigenetic inheritance and the offspring of animal models have attracted considerable interest. In this Viewpoint, we mainly discuss the suggestion that reproductive genetic changes in the male parent have the potential to be transferred to the offspring and illustrate how MPs and NPs in the father tissues are distributed in later generations. We provide a systematic understanding of the potential health hazards of paternal exposure to MPs and NPs to subsequent generations and put forth recommendations about the epigenetic effects for future research on public health and food safety.
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Transgenerational impacts of micro(nano)plastics in the aquatic and terrestrial environment
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This review summarizes research on the transgenerational impacts of micro- and nanoplastics, showing that exposure can harm not only the directly exposed organisms but also their unexposed offspring. Researchers found that the most commonly reported effects across generations include tissue bioaccumulation, impaired growth and reproduction, oxidative stress, and genetic damage. The study highlights that particle characteristics such as size, polymer type, and degree of aging significantly influence the severity of these transgenerational effects.
MicroRNA and Gut Microbiota Alter Intergenerational Effects of Paternal Exposure to Polyethylene Nanoplastics
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In a mouse study, when fathers were exposed to polyethylene nanoplastics, their male offspring suffered reproductive damage including lower sperm counts and testicular injury — even though the offspring were never directly exposed. The effects were passed down through changes in small RNA molecules and gut bacteria, suggesting that nanoplastic exposure could affect fertility across generations.
Reproductive toxicity and transgenerational effects of microplastics: Evidence from experimental models and underlying epigenetic mechanisms
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Tiny plastic particles have been found in human reproductive fluids, and this review of animal research shows they can harm fertility in both sexes and may even affect the health of future children and grandchildren—not just people directly exposed. Scientists think microplastics may cause these lasting effects by altering "chemical switches" on DNA that get passed down through generations, changing how genes turn on and off without changing the DNA itself. While the animal evidence is concerning, more human studies are needed to confirm these effects happen the same way in people.
Paternal Microplastic Exposure Alters Sperm Small Noncoding RNAs and Affects Offspring Metabolic Health in Mice
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Researchers found that paternal microplastic exposure in mice altered sperm small noncoding RNA profiles and had sex-specific effects on offspring metabolic health, including altered body composition and worsened insulin resistance in female offspring fed a high-fat diet. The study suggests that microplastic exposure may cause intergenerational health effects transmitted through epigenetic changes in sperm.
Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in Daphnia magna exposed to polyethylene microplastic fragments containing benzophenone-3 additive
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Researchers exposed Daphnia magna to polyethylene microplastics containing benzophenone-3 for a single generation and then tracked effects through three subsequent unexposed generations. The study found persistent epigenetic changes across all four generations, including six genes that remained altered throughout, affecting pathways related to detoxification, development, and cardiovascular function, challenging current assumptions about how environmental risk from microplastics should be assessed.
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