Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Drosophila melanogaster as sentinel organism for hazard identification of environmental contaminants

This review highlights how the common fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) is being used as a model organism to study the toxic effects of environmental pollutants, including microplastics, nanomaterials, and heavy metals. Researchers found that fruit flies offer genetic tools and measurable endpoints like survival, reproduction, and behavior that make them valuable for identifying hazards and discovering biomarkers. The study underscores the fruit fly's growing role in advancing our understanding of how environmental contaminants affect living organisms.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 3 citations
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

Study on Chemically-induced Diet Alteration of Drosophila Melanogaster

This study used Drosophila melanogaster as an in vivo model to assess how chemical compounds — including plastic-associated chemicals — alter feeding behavior and development, evaluating the fruit fly's diet alteration response as a sensitive toxicity endpoint for environmental contaminant screening.

2025 Research Journal of Agricultural Science
Article Tier 2

Drosophila melanogaster as a dynamic in vivo model organism reveals the hidden effects of interactions between microplastic/nanoplastic and heavy metals

Researchers used Drosophila melanogaster as an in vivo model to reveal that interactions between micro/nanoplastics and heavy metals produce combined toxic effects that are more severe than exposure to either contaminant alone.

2022 Journal of Applied Toxicology 28 citations
Article Tier 2

In vivo evaluation of the neurogenotoxic effects of exposure to validamycin A in neuroblasts of Drosophila melanogaster larval brain

This paper is not relevant to microplastics research — it evaluates the neurogenotoxic effects of the fungicide validamycin A in an in vivo vertebrate model, examining DNA damage in brain cells.

2023 Journal of Applied Toxicology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Drosophila melanogaster as a Bioindicator in Comparative Copper and Lead Toxicology: Exploring the Health Implications of Heavy Metal Exposure

Researchers used the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism to compare the toxic effects of copper and lead exposure across different genetic backgrounds. They found that both metals significantly reduced reproductive success, with effects varying by concentration and fly genotype. The study demonstrates that Drosophila can serve as a useful bioindicator for assessing heavy metal toxicity relevant to understanding broader environmental contamination impacts.

2024 Preprints.org 2 citations
Article Tier 2

The effects of microplastics and nanoplastics upon history, policies, and Drosophila melanogaster

This study examined the effects of microplastics and nanoplastics on the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, finding that dietary exposure to these pervasive environmental contaminants causes measurable biological harm and making the case for stronger regulatory policies.

2023
Article Tier 2

A mini review on exposure of microplastic to Drosophila melanogaster causing sex-specific, transgenerational, locomotory, physiological and developmental effect

This mini-review synthesized studies on how polystyrene and PET microplastics affect Drosophila melanogaster across multiple biological levels including sex-specific responses, physiology, behavior, development, and transgenerational effects. Male Drosophila showed greater sensitivity to microplastics with higher mortality, and effects were both concentration- and size-dependent.

2024 Journal of Entomological Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

No evidence for behavioral or physiological effects of nanoplastics ingestion in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster

Researchers exposed Drosophila melanogaster to low and high concentrations of nanoplastics (1 µg/g and 1 mg/g) across several generations and measured emergence rate, mitochondrial activity, metabolism, body mass, and locomotion. No significant behavioral or physiological effects were detected, suggesting Drosophila may be less sensitive to nanoplastics than aquatic species.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Drosophila melanogaster as potential alternative animal model for evaluating acute inhalation toxicity

Researchers tested fruit flies as an alternative animal model for studying inhalation toxicity of common antimicrobial chemicals. They found that higher exposure concentrations led to lower survival rates and impaired movement and neurological responses in the flies. The study suggests that fruit flies could serve as a reliable and efficient model for evaluating the harmful effects of inhaled substances.

2024 The Journal of Toxicological Sciences 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Temperature- and chemical-induced neurotoxicity in zebrafish

This review examines how zebrafish are used as a model organism to study the neurotoxic effects of chemicals including heavy metals, pesticides, and plastic additives. Researchers found that zebrafish allow analysis across all developmental stages using advanced molecular and behavioral tools, making them valuable for understanding how toxic substances damage the nervous system. The study also highlights that temperature fluctuations, not just chemical exposure, can trigger neurotoxic responses.

2023 Frontiers in Physiology 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics and Microplastics and Their Impact on Male Reproduction—Uncovering the Hidden Hazards Using the Drosophila Model

Using Drosophila as a model organism, researchers investigated the impact of micro- and nanoplastics on male reproductive health, finding that exposure impaired reproductive output and sperm quality. The study validates Drosophila as an ethical, cost-effective model for assessing reproductive toxicity of microplastics.

2024
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

Neurotoxicity of Some Environmental Pollutants to Zebrafish

This review examines how environmental pollutants including microplastics, pesticides, and drug residues can damage the nervous system, using zebrafish as a model organism. The studies show that microplastics can cause neurotoxic effects on their own and also increase the brain-damaging potential of other pollutants they carry, which has implications for understanding how these contaminants might affect the human nervous system.

2024 Life 25 citations
Article Tier 2

C. elegans as a powerful model for neurotoxicity assessment

This review highlights the roundworm C. elegans as a valuable model organism for studying how toxic substances, including microplastics and nanoplastics, affect the nervous system. The worm's simple but well-mapped nervous system allows researchers to observe neurological damage at the cellular and molecular level. The study notes that C. elegans research has been instrumental in identifying how environmental pollutants can impair nerve function, memory, and behavior.

2025 NeuroToxicology 4 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

Drosophila as a Robust Model System for Assessing Autophagy: A Review

This review explores how the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster serves as a powerful research model for studying autophagy, the cellular recycling process that plays roles in aging, immune response, and disease. Researchers describe the genetic tools and techniques available in Drosophila that allow detailed investigation of autophagy mechanisms in a living organism. The study highlights that insights from fruit fly research continue to advance our understanding of how autophagy functions in more complex organisms, including humans.

2023 Toxics 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Discussing Behavioural Ecotoxicology in the Light of Some Environmentally Available Anthropogenic Contaminants and their Influence on Behavioural Alterations in Animals

This review paper summarizes research showing that common pollutants like pesticides, heavy metals, plastics, and pharmaceuticals can change how animals behave by affecting their nervous systems. Scientists study these behavioral changes in animals because they help us understand how these same pollutants might harm brain function in humans. This research is important because it gives us early warning signs about which environmental chemicals could be damaging our health.

2026 Preprints.org
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

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

Exposure to microplastics cause gut damage, locomotor dysfunction, epigenetic silencing, and aggravate cadmium (Cd) toxicity in Drosophila

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.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 144 citations
Article Tier 2

Nanoplastics exacerbate lead exposure-induced developmental neurotoxicity by disrupting gut integrity in Drosophila

Researchers used Drosophila fruit flies to show that co-exposure to nanoplastics and lead is more neurodevelopmentally damaging than lead alone, with nanoplastics promoting lead accumulation in neural tissue, disrupting gut integrity, and worsening oxidative stress, learning deficits, and motor impairment — with female flies showing greater sensitivity.

2026 NeuroToxicology
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

Interactions of Ingested Polystyrene Microplastics with Heavy Metals (Cadmium or Silver) as Environmental Pollutants: A Comprehensive In Vivo Study Using Drosophila melanogaster

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.

2022 Biology 35 citations