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Polystyrene microplastics enhance environmentally relevant prometryn-induced developmental toxicity, tissue damage, and gut microbiota dysbiosis in marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma)
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Researchers exposed marine medaka fish eggs to the herbicide prometryn combined with polystyrene microplastics at environmentally relevant concentrations for 60 days. They found that microplastics significantly worsened the herbicide's toxic effects, causing more severe developmental delays, tissue damage, and gut microbiome disruption than the herbicide alone. The study highlights that microplastics can amplify the toxicity of agricultural chemicals in marine environments.
Microplastics (MPs) and triazine herbicides are ubiquitous pollutants in marine ecosystems, but their combined toxicity under environmental concentrations to marine fish is still unclear. In this study, we exposed fertilized eggs of marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma) to 10 μg/L prometryn (Pro) alone and combined with 10-μm MPs at concentrations of 1, 10, and 100 μg/L for 60 days to assess their impacts on the development, tissue damage, and gut microbiota dysbiosis. The results revealed that the presence of MPs significantly exacerbated the toxicity of Pro. Specifically, the combination of Pro with 1 and 10 μg/L MPs for 21 days led to more severe developmental issues, including delayed hatching, reduced larval size/weight, and increased malformations. Prolonged exposure (60 days) further intensified these adverse effects, with higher MPs accumulation in the intestines, reduced survival, and stunted juvenile growth. Histopathological examination showed that MPs exacerbated the damage of Pro in the liver and intestinal tissues. Moreover, co-exposure disrupted genes linked to oxidative stress, immunity, and growth. Additionally, both Pro alone and combined with 100 μg/L MPs reduced microbiota diversity and induced dysbiosis. This study offers novel perspectives on the evaluation of environmental health risks of ubiquitous MPs and herbicide pollution.
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Toxic effects of polystyrene microplastics on atrazine in zebrafish: Exogenous toxicity and endogenous mechanism
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Researchers found that combining polystyrene microplastics with the common herbicide atrazine was more toxic to zebrafish than either pollutant alone, causing greater liver and gut damage. The combination also degraded water quality by reducing oxygen levels and increasing harmful nitrogen compounds. This is important because microplastics and pesticides frequently co-exist in the environment, meaning their combined effects on aquatic life and food safety may be worse than studies of individual pollutants suggest.
Nanoplastics enhance the intestinal damage and genotoxicity of sulfamethoxazole to medaka juveniles (Oryzias melastigma) in coastal environment
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Scientists exposed young medaka fish to the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole and polystyrene nanoplastics, both individually and together, to study their combined effects on intestinal health. They found that co-exposure caused more severe gut damage than either pollutant alone, disrupting the gut microbiome and triggering changes in gene expression related to immune defense and DNA repair. The study suggests that nanoplastics may amplify the harmful effects of antibiotics on fish in coastal environments.
Gut microbiota related response of Oryzias melastigma to combined exposure of polystyrene microplastics and tetracycline
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Researchers exposed estuarine fish to polystyrene microplastics and the antibiotic tetracycline, both alone and in combination, for four weeks. The combined exposure caused more severe disruption to gut bacteria and liver tissue than either pollutant alone, with microplastics appearing to worsen the effects of tetracycline. The study suggests that the co-occurrence of microplastics and antibiotics in coastal waters may pose greater ecological risks than either contaminant by itself.
Polystyrene microplastics enhance the microcystin-LR-induced gonadal damage and reproductive endocrine disruption in zebrafish
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Zebrafish exposed to polystyrene microplastics along with microcystin-LR (a common toxin from algae blooms) suffered worse reproductive damage than when exposed to either pollutant alone. The microplastics acted as carriers that increased the amount of toxin accumulating in the fish's reproductive organs. This study demonstrates that microplastics can worsen the effects of other water pollutants by helping toxic chemicals build up in the body.
Effects of microplastics and phenanthrene on gut microbiome and metabolome alterations in the marine medaka Oryzias melastigma
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Researchers exposed marine medaka fish to microplastics combined with phenanthrene, a common organic pollutant, and found that the combination disrupted gut bacteria and metabolism more than either substance alone. Specific gut bacterial communities shifted in response to the combined exposure, leading to changes in important metabolic processes. This study underscores that microplastics in the ocean don't act alone; they interact with other pollutants to amplify harm to aquatic organisms and potentially to the humans who consume seafood.
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