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Microplastics aggravate the joint toxicity to earthworm Eisenia fetida with cadmium by altering its availability
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Researchers exposed earthworms to polyethylene microplastics combined with cadmium and found that co-exposure caused significantly worse effects than either pollutant alone, including increased avoidance behavior, weight loss, and DNA damage. The microplastics increased the bioavailability of cadmium in soil by up to 1.43-fold and boosted cadmium accumulation in earthworm tissue by up to 2.65-fold. The study demonstrates that microplastics can worsen heavy metal toxicity to soil organisms by making the metals more accessible for uptake.
Microplastics (MPs) have become a global environmental issue, however, the threats of metal-associated MPs to soil ecosystems and their involved processes have not been fully disclosed. In this study, a microcosm experiment with co-exposure of polyethylene and cadmium was conducted to determine their joint effects on the earthworm Eisenia fetida and to explore their relationship with the soil Cd availability that affected by MPs. The results showed that 28-day co-exposure of MPs and Cd significantly induced higher avoidance responses, weight loss and reduced reproduction of earthworms with the increasing content of pollutants. MPs and Cd jointly inhibited the superoxide enzyme (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) activities while increasing the glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) activities in E. fetida. Histopathological changes and DNA damage to earthworm sperm also occurred in an MPs-dose-dependent manner. In addition, the presence of MPs significantly increased the soil diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA)-Cd concentrations by 1.20-fold and 1.43-fold while increasing the Cd bioaccumulation in E. fetida by 2.65-fold and 1.42-fold in low- and high-Cd-contaminated soil, respectively, which potentially contributed to the aggravation of the joint toxicity to E. fetida. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that microplastics could enhance the cadmium availability in the co-exposure soil which resulted in the joint toxicity of metal-associated MPs to soil organisms. CAPSULE: MPs increased soil Cd availability and potentially aggravated the joint toxicity with Cd to Eisenia fetida.
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