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Marine & Wildlife
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Inhibitory effects of polystyrene microplastics on caudal fin regeneration in zebrafish larvae
Environmental Pollution2020
49 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 45
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Tao Lu,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Di Wu,
Di Wu,
Di Wu,
Linqi Gu,
Tao Lu,
Linqi Gu,
Di Wu,
Tao Lu,
Tao Lu,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Haifeng Qian,
Tao Lu,
Xiangliang Pan,
Di Wu,
Di Wu,
Li Tian,
Di Wu,
Xiangliang Pan,
Di Wu,
Haifeng Qian,
Xiangliang Pan,
Tao Lu,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Tao Lu,
Xiangliang Pan,
G.F. Gao,
G.F. Gao,
Di Wu,
Xiangliang Pan,
Zhengwei Fu,
Zhengwei Fu,
Di Wu,
Shaohong Peng,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Di Wu,
Di Wu,
Di Wu,
Di Wu,
Di Wu,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Di Wu,
Di Wu,
Di Wu,
Di Wu,
Linqi Gu,
Linqi Gu,
Jieyu Zhang,
Zhengwei Fu,
Zhengwei Fu,
Zhengwei Fu,
Linqi Gu,
Linqi Gu,
Jieyu Zhang,
Zhengwei Fu,
Di Wu,
Di Wu,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Haifeng Qian,
Xiangliang Pan,
Tao Lu,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Zhengwei Fu,
Zhengwei Fu,
Di Wu,
Haifeng Qian,
Haifeng Qian,
Shaohong Peng,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Tao Lu,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Jing Huang,
Haifeng Qian,
Xiangliang Pan,
Haifeng Qian,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Zhengwei Fu,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Qing Hua,
Xiangliang Pan,
Di Wu,
Tao Lu,
Haifeng Qian,
Tao Lu,
Tao Lu,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Xiangliang Pan,
Haifeng Qian,
Xiangliang Pan,
Tao Lu,
Zhong Li,
Haifeng Qian,
Haifeng Qian,
Haifeng Qian,
Zhengwei Fu,
Xiangliang Pan,
Haifeng Qian,
Tao Lu,
Haifeng Qian,
Li Sun
Summary
Exposure to polystyrene microplastics significantly impaired fin regeneration in injured zebrafish larvae, disrupting the signaling pathways and immune responses needed for tissue repair. The study is the first to show microplastics can reduce the regenerative capacity of fish, with potential long-term consequences for their survival in the wild.
Microplastic pollution is pervasive in aquatic environments, but the potential effects of microplastics on aquatic organisms are still under debate. Given that tissue damage is unavoidable in fish and the available data mostly concentrate on healthy fish, there is a large chance that the ecotoxicological risk of microplastic pollution is underrated. Therefore, in this study, the effects of microplastics on the regenerative capacity of injured fish were investigated using a zebrafish caudal fin regeneration model. After fin amputation at 72 h post fertilization, the larvae were exposed to polystyrene microplastics (0.1-10 mg/L) with diameters of 50 or 500 nm. Microplastic exposure significantly inhibited fin regeneration, both morphologically and functionally. Furthermore, the signaling networks that regulate fin regeneration, as well as reactive oxygen species signaling and the immune response, both of which are essential for tissue repair and regeneration, were altered. Transcriptomic analyses of the regenerating fin confirmed that genes related to fin regeneration were transcriptionally modulated in response to microplastic exposure and that metabolic pathways were also extensively involved. In conclusion, this study demonstrated for the first time that microplastic exposure could disrupt the regenerative capacity of fish and might eventually impair their fitness in the wild.