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Exposure to microplastics cause gut damage, locomotor dysfunction, epigenetic silencing, and aggravate cadmium (Cd) toxicity in Drosophila
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Researchers used fruit flies as a model to study the effects of microplastics alone and combined with cadmium, a toxic metal commonly used in plastic production. They found that microplastics caused size-dependent gut damage and enhanced cadmium's harmful effects on movement and gene regulation through epigenetic silencing. The study demonstrates that microplastics can amplify the toxicity of co-occurring environmental contaminants and suggests Drosophila as a useful tool for rapid microplastic toxicity screening.
The interactions of microplastics (MPs) with other chemicals and the range of outcomes are of great importance to enhance understanding of their environmental impacts and health risks. Cadmium (Cd) and cadmium compounds are widely used as pigments and stabilizers in plastics, but they readily leach out. Here we addressed the impacts of MPs, Cd, and their joint exposure in a tractable Drosophila melanogaster model. We show that exposure to MPs lead to extensive particle size depended gut damage early in life and an enhancement of Cd-induced inhibition of locomotor-behavioral function in adult flies. In addition, we show that Cd exposure induces epigenetic gene silencing via position-effect variegation (PEV) in somatic tissues that was dramatically enhanced by co-exposure with MPs. The results indicate that MPs can aggravate the toxicity of other environmental contaminants and induce adverse effects across a range of diverse outcomes in a tractable and widely used model organism. These observations raise the prospects of using Drosophila as a tool for the rapid assessment of MP-mediated toxicity.
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This study used fruit flies to investigate how polystyrene microplastics interact with two heavy metal pollutants — cadmium and silver — after ingestion. The combined exposures demonstrated that microplastics can alter the toxic effects of heavy metals, supporting the concern that microplastics act as carriers that change how harmful metals affect living organisms.
Interactions of Ingested Polystyrene Microplastics with Heavy Metals (Cadmium or Silver) as Environmental Pollutants: A Comprehensive In Vivo Study Using Drosophila melanogaster
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Researchers used Drosophila larvae to study polystyrene microplastic interactions with cadmium and silver, visualizing plastic passage through the intestinal barrier into hemolymph and finding that co-exposure to metals and microplastics produced synergistic toxic effects.
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.
Additive effects of microplastics on accumulation and toxicity of cadmium in male zebrafish
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Researchers exposed adult zebrafish to polyethylene microplastics and cadmium, both individually and in combination, for 21 days. They found that microplastics and cadmium together produced additive toxic effects, increasing cadmium accumulation in fish tissues, altering behavior, and causing more severe organ damage. The study suggests that microplastics in contaminated waterways may worsen the harmful effects of heavy metals on aquatic life.
Influence of microplastics on the accumulation and chronic toxic effects of cadmium in zebrafish (Danio rerio)
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Researchers exposed zebrafish to polystyrene microplastics combined with cadmium for three weeks and found that the presence of microplastics significantly increased cadmium accumulation in the liver, gut, and gills. The combined exposure caused greater oxidative damage, tissue inflammation, and disruption of protective gene activity than either pollutant alone. The study demonstrates that microplastics can enhance the toxicity of heavy metals in fish by acting as carriers that increase the body's uptake of harmful substances.
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