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Silent Disruptors: The Multifaceted Impact of Phthalates Across Aquatic Invertebrate and Vertebrate Taxa
Summary
Phthalates — plastic additives found ubiquitously in the environment — induce reproductive toxicity, oxidative stress, immune impairment, neuroendocrine disruption, and transgenerational epigenetic effects across invertebrate and vertebrate taxa. This review directly implicates microplastic-associated phthalate leaching as a mechanism of broad ecological harm, emphasizing the need to include non-model taxa in regulatory risk assessments for plastic-derived chemical pollution.
Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are ubiquitous pollutants with reported endocrine-disruption and multiplex toxic activities in a wide range of invertebrate and vertebrate animals. In the present review, the molecular and physiological effects of phthalate exposure on invertebrates, as well as less characterized vertebrates such as amphibians, reptiles, and mammals, are thoroughly examined. PAEs induce a series of adverse effects, such as reproductive toxicity, oxidative stress, immune system impairment, and neuroendocrine disruption. The effects can extensively vary depending on the species, developmental stage, and environmental conditions, ranging from impaired hormone signaling, developmental malformations, and thyroid impairment in amphibians and reptiles to lipid metabolism disturbances and epigenetic changes in mammals. This review will place particular emphasis on transgenerational effects, mixture toxicity, and chronic low-level exposure. By integrating evidence from in vivo, in vitro, and omics studies, this review defines areas of knowledge gaps and the necessity to integrate these taxa in integrated ecological risk assessments, as well as regulatory policy.