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The hazardous impact of true-to-life PET nanoplastics in Drosophila
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Researchers created realistic nanoplastics by sanding commercial PET water bottles and tested their effects on fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster). They found that these true-to-life nanoplastics were internalized through the digestive tract and distributed throughout the body, causing measurable biological impacts. The study highlights the importance of testing with environmentally relevant plastic particles rather than only laboratory-grade materials to accurately assess health risks.
Plastic pollution is a continuously growing problem that can threaten wildlife and human beings. Environmental plastic waste is degraded into small particles termed micro/ nanoplastics (MNPLs) that, due to their small size, can be easily internalized into the exposed organisms, increasing the risks associated with their exposure. To appropriately determine the associated health risk, it is essential to obtain/test representative MNPLs' environmental samples. To such end, we have obtained NPLs resulting from sanding commercial water polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. These true-to-life PETNPLs were extensively characterized, and their potential hazard impacts were explored using Drosophila melanogaster. To highlight the internalization through the digestive tract and the whole body, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and confocal microscopy were used. In spite of the observed efficient uptake of PETNPLs into symbiotic bacteria, enterocytes, and hemocytes, the exposure failed to reduce flies' survival rates. Nevertheless, PETNPLs exposure disturbed the expression of stress, antioxidant, and DNA repair genes, as well as in those genes involved in the response to physical intestinal damage. Importantly, both oxidative stress and DNA damage induction were markedly increased as a consequence of the exposure to PETNPLs.
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Researchers synthesized polyethylene terephthalate nanoplastics and fed them to fruit flies to assess their toxic effects. The nanoplastics caused increased oxidative stress, reduced survival rates, and impaired reproductive capacity in the exposed flies. The study demonstrates that PET nanoplastics, one of the most common plastic types in food and beverage packaging, can have measurable toxic effects on living organisms.
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Researchers fed PET microplastics to fruit flies and found that the particles accumulated in their bodies and caused dose-dependent declines in movement, climbing ability, and survival rates. Higher microplastic concentrations also slowed the flies' development from larvae to adults. While fruit flies are a simple model organism, these behavioral and developmental effects suggest that chronic microplastic ingestion could impair neurological and physiological functions in animals exposed through their diet.
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