Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Polystyrene microplastics alter physiological parameters in the Drosophila model

Researchers investigated the effects of polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics on fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) and found dose- and size-dependent toxicity at both larval and adult stages. Exposure caused significant behavioral impairments, elevated markers of cellular stress, and activated key stress response genes, indicating that polystyrene microplastics induce oxidative stress and cellular damage.

2026 Environmental Science and Pollution Research
Article Tier 2

Polyethylene microplastics affect behavioural, oxidative stress, and molecular responses in the Drosophila model

Fruit flies exposed to polyethylene microplastics showed reduced climbing and crawling ability, increased oxidative stress, and activation of genes involved in cell death and stress responses. The microplastics overwhelmed the flies' antioxidant defenses and triggered the same cellular damage pathways associated with disease in mammals. Since fruit flies share many biological pathways with humans, these findings suggest that microplastic exposure could cause similar oxidative damage and stress responses in human cells.

2024 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Adverse biological effects of ingested polystyrene microplastics using Drosophila melanogaster as a model in vivo organism

Researchers used fruit flies as an in vivo model to study the biological effects of ingesting polystyrene microplastics at three different sizes. Exposure caused significant morphological defects, impaired climbing behavior, and genotoxic effects as shown by a somatic mutation test. The findings suggest that polystyrene microplastics may induce genetic damage primarily through somatic recombination, raising concerns about their potential biological impact on living organisms.

2021 Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health 61 citations
Article Tier 2

Metabolic effects of dietary exposure to polystyrene microplastic and nanoplastic in fruit flies

Researchers used fruit flies as a model organism to study the metabolic effects of ingesting polystyrene microplastic and nanoplastic particles at environmentally relevant doses. They found that both particle sizes disrupted metabolic processes, with nanoplastics causing more pronounced changes in energy storage and lipid metabolism. The study suggests that dietary exposure to plastic particles, even at levels found in the environment, can meaningfully alter metabolic physiology.

2025 Journal of Experimental Biology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Polyethylene microplastics induce behavioural and developmental deficits in the Drosophila model

Researchers generated polyethylene microplastics sized 2-10 micrometers and tested their effects on fruit flies (Drosophila). They found that exposure caused severe declines in fly longevity, reduced locomotor function in both larvae and adults, decreased eclosion rates, and increased antioxidant enzyme activity along with stress-response gene activation. The findings provide evidence that polyethylene microplastics can impair growth, development, and survival in a well-established animal model.

2025 Toxicology and Environmental Health Sciences 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Neuromuscular, retinal, and reproductive impact of low-dose polystyrene microplastics on Drosophila

Researchers found that even low doses of polystyrene microplastics impaired neuromuscular signaling, altered retinal function, and reduced reproductive rates in fruit flies, with gene expression changes in key signaling pathways underlying these effects.

2021 Environmental Pollution 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Size-dependent and sex-specific negative effects of micro- and nano-sized polystyrene particles in the terrestrial invertebrate model Drosophila melanogaster

Fruit flies exposed to low doses of polystyrene micro and nanoparticles for 28 days showed tissue damage in their gut, ovaries, and testes, with smaller particles causing more harm. The plastics triggered oxidative stress and cell death in gut tissue, though reproduction was not significantly affected at these doses. This study, using a well-established model organism, suggests that even low-level, long-term exposure to tiny plastic particles can damage internal organs, with potential implications for other species including humans.

2023 Micron 38 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicological Profile of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Microplastic in Ingested Drosophila melanogaster (Oregon R+) and Its Adverse Effect on Behavior and Development

Researchers fed PET microplastics to fruit flies and found that the particles accumulated in their bodies and caused dose-dependent declines in movement, climbing ability, and survival rates. Higher microplastic concentrations also slowed the flies' development from larvae to adults. While fruit flies are a simple model organism, these behavioral and developmental effects suggest that chronic microplastic ingestion could impair neurological and physiological functions in animals exposed through their diet.

2023 Toxics 42 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics affect locomotion and daily activity ofDrosophila melanogaster

Uptake and effects of polystyrene micro- and nanospheres on Drosophila melanogaster were studied, finding that both sizes of plastic particles affected locomotion and daily activity patterns. The results suggest that microplastic and nanoplastic ingestion can disrupt behavioral functions in the fruit fly model.

2021 Environmental Science Nano 57 citations
Article Tier 2

Hazard assessment of ingested polystyrene nanoplastics in Drosophila larvae

Researchers assessed the hazard of ingested polystyrene nanoplastics in Drosophila larvae, examining effects on gut morphology, oxidative stress, and development to characterize toxicological risks of nanoplastic exposure in a model invertebrate organism.

2022 Environmental Science Nano 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic Fly: What Drosophila melanogaster Can Tell Us about the Biological Effects and the Carcinogenic Potential of Nanopolystyrene

Researchers used fruit flies as a model organism to investigate whether polystyrene nanoplastics can cause genetic damage and promote tumor growth. They found that nanoplastic exposure led to DNA damage and increased tumor formation in the flies, with effects worsening at higher concentrations. The study suggests that nanoplastics commonly found in food packaging may carry cancer-promoting potential that warrants further investigation.

2024 International Journal of Molecular Sciences 7 citations
Article Tier 2

High-concentration polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics co-exposure shorten insect lifespan and impose ecological risk: Multi-omics evidence from Drosophila melanogaster

Researchers used fruit flies as a model organism to study how co-exposure to high concentrations of polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics affects insect lifespan. Multi-omics analysis revealed that microplastic co-exposure significantly shortened lifespan and disrupted key biological pathways, suggesting potential ecological risks from cumulative microplastic exposure in the environment.

2026 Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C Toxicology & Pharmacology
Article Tier 2

Polypropylene microplastics affect the physiology in Drosophila model

Researchers found that polypropylene microplastics negatively affected the physiology of Drosophila fruit flies, complementing earlier work on polyethylene terephthalate microplastics and demonstrating that different polymer types can impair organism health.

2023 Bulletin of Entomological Research 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of polystyrene microplastic ingestion on development, adult fitness, and reproductive success of Culex quinquefasciatus and Anopheles quadrimaculatus

Researchers fed polystyrene microplastics to Drosophila melanogaster and measured effects on larval development, adult fitness, and reproductive success across generations, finding that MP ingestion impaired multiple fitness traits and that some effects persisted into subsequent generations.

2025 Journal of the Florida Mosquito Control Association
Article Tier 2

Drosophila melanogaster as a tractable eco-environmental model to unravel the toxicity of micro- and nanoplastics

This review summarizes research using fruit flies as a model to study how micro- and nanoplastics harm living organisms. Studies show these tiny plastic particles cause oxidative stress, inflammation, DNA damage, and reproductive problems in flies, with males being more vulnerable than females -- findings that may help us understand similar risks in humans.

2024 Environment International 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of PET microplastics on the physiology of Drosophila

Researchers used Drosophila fruit flies as a model to study the physiological effects of PET microplastics, finding that ingestion affected reproduction, lifespan, and gut function. The study suggests that even common plastic types found in food packaging can have measurable biological effects when consumed by living organisms.

2021 Chemosphere 66 citations
Article Tier 2

Multi-omics Analysis Uncovers Lifespan Effects of Polyethylene and Polystyrene Microplastics Coexposure in Drosophila melanogaster

Researchers used fruit flies (Drosophila) to investigate the combined effects of polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics on lifespan. They found that co-exposure at high concentrations significantly reduced lifespan and impaired climbing ability, intestinal barrier function, and hunger resistance. Multi-omics analysis revealed disruptions in metabolic pathways and immune signaling, suggesting that combined microplastic exposure may be more harmful than single-type exposure alone.

2025 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Intake of polyamide microplastics affects the behavior and metabolism of Drosophila

Researchers found that exposure to polyamide microplastics altered feeding behaviour, reduced triglyceride and protein levels, and disrupted metabolism in Drosophila, with effects differing between sexes and increasing in severity at higher microplastic concentrations.

2022 Chemosphere 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochemical and physiological effects of multigenerational exposure to spheric polystyrene microplastics in Caenorhabditis elegans

Researchers found that multigenerational exposure of C. elegans to polystyrene microplastics at low concentrations triggered oxidative stress, increased detoxification enzyme activity, and caused accumulating physiological effects across five consecutive generations.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene Microplastic Beads Caused Cellular Alterations in midgut cells and Sex-Specific Toxic Effects on Survival, Starvation Resistance, and Excretion of the Model Insect Drosophila melanogaster

Researchers exposed the model insect Drosophila melanogaster to polystyrene microplastic beads (2 µm) at concentrations of 0.005, 0.05, and 0.5 µg/ml and found dose-dependent cellular alterations in midgut cells along with sex-specific effects on survival, starvation resistance, and excretion. The study extends microplastic toxicity evidence to terrestrial invertebrates, highlighting that even low concentrations can disrupt digestive physiology in a widely-used model organism.

2022 Research Square (Research Square) 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Transgenerational effects on development following microplastic exposure in Drosophila melanogaster

Researchers fed Drosophila melanogaster flies plastic-supplemented food and found that while treated flies showed changes in fertility and sex ratio, their unexposed offspring had shorter larval development and reduced adult size, demonstrating transgenerational developmental effects from parental microplastic exposure.

2021 PeerJ 41 citations
Article Tier 2

Immunological and Genotoxic Effects of Polystyrene Microparticles on the Model Insect Tenebrio molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

Researchers fed mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) larvae polystyrene microplastics at four dose levels and assessed immune function and DNA damage. Dietary exposure caused dose-dependent increases in larval mortality, immune cell changes, and genotoxic damage, indicating that even insect species used in waste degradation studies are harmed by microplastic ingestion.

2025 Transactions of the American Entomological Society
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene Microplastics Disrupt Spermatogenesis through Oxidative Stress in Rat Testicular Tissue

Male Wistar rats orally administered polystyrene microplastics showed excessive oxidative stress in testicular tissue across all exposure groups, with spermatogenesis impairment and reduced fertility correlating with dose, demonstrating reproductive toxicity in a mammalian model.

2025 Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International
Article Tier 2

Investigation of the effects of nanoplastic polyethylene terephthalate on environmental toxicology using model Drosophila melanogaster

Researchers synthesized polyethylene terephthalate nanoplastics and fed them to fruit flies to assess their toxic effects. The nanoplastics caused increased oxidative stress, reduced survival rates, and impaired reproductive capacity in the exposed flies. The study demonstrates that PET nanoplastics, one of the most common plastic types in food and beverage packaging, can have measurable toxic effects on living organisms.

2024 Nanotoxicology 7 citations