Papers

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Article Tier 2

Chronic and Transgenerational Effects of Polystyrene Microplastics at Environmentally Relevant Concentrations in Earthworms (Eisenia fetida)

Researchers studied the chronic and transgenerational effects of polystyrene microplastics on earthworms (Eisenia fetida) at environmentally relevant concentrations. While microplastics showed no acute toxicity in terms of mortality, they adversely affected reproduction in both parent and first-generation offspring, with over 50% reduction in juvenile production, suggesting that long-term microplastic exposure may impact soil organism populations across generations.

2021 Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 81 citations
Article Tier 2

Toxicological effects of polystyrene microplastics on earthworm (Eisenia fetida)

Researchers exposed earthworms to two sizes of polystyrene microplastics in soil for 14 days and found evidence of intestinal cell damage, oxidative stress, and DNA damage. The larger particles accumulated more in earthworm intestines, while both sizes triggered changes in key antioxidant markers. The study demonstrates that microplastic contamination in soil can cause measurable biological harm to important soil organisms.

2019 Environmental Pollution 383 citations
Article Tier 2

Transgenerational neurotoxicity of polystyrene microplastics induced by oxidative stress in Caenorhabditis elegans

Researchers exposed the roundworm C. elegans to polystyrene microplastics and tracked the effects across five generations. They found that microplastic exposure caused nerve damage and oxidative stress that persisted in offspring even when those generations were not directly exposed, suggesting microplastics can have lasting effects passed down through generations.

2021 Chemosphere 105 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene nanoplastics induced transgenerational reproductive toxicity in Caenorhabditis elegans through enhanced DNA damage accompanied by DNA repair inhibition

Researchers exposed roundworms (C. elegans) to polystyrene nanoplastics at environmentally relevant concentrations and found that reproductive harm persisted across multiple generations, even after exposure stopped. The nanoplastics caused DNA damage while simultaneously suppressing the organisms' DNA repair mechanisms, creating a compounding effect. The study suggests that nanoplastic exposure may have lasting consequences that are passed down through generations, amplifying harm beyond the originally exposed organisms.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Chronic and transgenerational effects of polyethylene microplastics at environmentally relevant concentrations in earthworms

Researchers evaluated the effects of polyethylene microplastics at environmentally relevant concentrations on earthworms across two generations. The study found that exposure at 0.5% concentration caused over 70% reduction in reproduction for both parent and offspring generations, significant DNA damage, and accumulation of phthalate additives released from the plastic particles.

2021 Environmental Technology & Innovation 50 citations
Article Tier 2

Cross-Generational Exposure to Low-Density Polyethylene Microplastics Induced Hyperactive Responses in Eisenia fetida Offsprings

Researchers exposed two generations of earthworms to polyethylene microplastics in soil and found that the offspring generation showed heightened stress responses even beyond what was seen in the parent generation. The parent worms experienced reduced reproduction and growth, while their offspring showed overactive antioxidant defenses and disrupted nervous system signaling. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in agricultural soils may have compounding effects across generations of soil organisms.

2024 Environmental Science & Technology 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecotoxicological effects of different size ranges of industrial-grade polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics on earthworms Eisenia fetida

Researchers exposed earthworms to industrial-grade polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics of various sizes and found that the worms ingested all types of particles tested. The microplastics caused oxidative stress and DNA damage in the earthworms, with the severity depending on both the size and type of plastic. Gene analysis revealed that exposure disrupted pathways related to nervous system function, oxidative stress, and inflammation, indicating that microplastics pose ecological risks to important soil organisms.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 128 citations
Article Tier 2

Different Toxic Effects of Polystyrene Microplastics and Nanoplastics on Caenorhabditis elegans

Researchers compared the toxicity of 2-μm polystyrene microplastics and 0.1-μm nanoplastics in C. elegans, finding both impaired growth, locomotion, reproduction, and lifespan at 1 mg/L and above, with microplastics causing greater locomotion and reproductive toxicity and nanoplastics inducing stronger oxidative stress.

2025 Journal of Applied Toxicology
Article Tier 2

Understanding the harmful effects of polyethylene microplastics on Eisenia fetida: A toxicological evaluation

Earthworms (Eisenia fetida) exposed to increasing concentrations of polyethylene microplastics in soil showed lower body weight, reduced reproductive output, and disrupted antioxidant defenses — with oxidative stress markers climbing nearly 1.3-fold at the highest dose. These findings confirm that microplastic pollution degrades soil ecosystem health at concentrations that could plausibly occur in contaminated agricultural land.

2023 Journal of Applied and Natural Science 1 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

Effects of conventional and biodegradable microplastics on earthworm Eisenia andrei in two generations

Researchers exposed earthworms (Eisenia andrei) to conventional polyethylene and biodegradable PBAT mulching film microplastics across two generations (7 months) and found that both types caused reproductive and growth effects, with impacts accumulating across generations under environmentally relevant concentrations.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials Plastics
Article Tier 2

Effects of polystyrene microplastics on the fitness of earthworms in an agricultural soil

Researchers exposed earthworms to polystyrene microplastics in agricultural soil at various concentrations. The study found that low concentrations had little effect, but high concentrations (1% and above) significantly inhibited growth and increased mortality, suggesting microplastic pollution poses ecological risks to soil organisms in terrestrial ecosystems.

2017 IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science 271 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as Soil Emerging Pollutants: Sublethal Earthworms Answers From Poly(propene) Photodegraded

Researchers exposed the earthworm Eisenia andrei to polypropylene microplastics at various concentrations in soil for 14 days, finding sublethal effects on survival, reproduction, and oxidative stress markers that varied with MP concentration and confirmed ecotoxicological risk to soil invertebrates.

2025 Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental
Article Tier 2

Photoaged polystyrene nanoplastics exposure results in reproductive toxicity due to oxidative damage in Caenorhabditis elegans

Researchers exposed the roundworm C. elegans to polystyrene nanoplastics that had been aged by sunlight, simulating real-world environmental conditions. The study found that these weathered nanoplastics caused more severe reproductive harm than pristine particles, primarily through increased oxidative stress, suggesting that aging makes plastic particles more toxic to living organisms.

2024 Environmental Pollution 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene Nanoplastics Elicit Multiple Responses in Immune Cells of the Eisenia fetida (Savigny, 1826)

This study examined how nanoplastics from polystyrene affect the immune cells of earthworms, which play a critical role in soil ecosystems. Researchers found that the tiny plastic particles were taken up by the cells, triggered oxidative stress, weakened antioxidant defenses, destabilized cell membranes, and initiated early-stage cell death. The results provide cellular-level evidence that nanoplastic exposure poses ecological risks to soil-dwelling organisms.

2024 Toxics 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Adverse effects of microplastics on earthworms: A critical review

This critical review of 65 publications summarized the adverse effects of microplastics on earthworms, finding impacts on growth, behavior, oxidative stress, gene expression, and gut microbiota, with particle size, concentration, and co-occurring pollutants influencing toxicity outcomes.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 111 citations
Article Tier 2

Visualizing and assessing the size-dependent oral uptake, tissue distribution, and detrimental effect of polystyrene microplastics in Eisenia fetida

Researchers investigated size-dependent effects of polystyrene microplastics on earthworms (Eisenia fetida) using particles of 70 nanometers, 1 micrometer, and 10 micrometers at various doses. They found that smaller particles were more readily taken up into tissues and caused greater oxidative stress and tissue damage. The study suggests that nanoscale plastic particles may pose higher ecological risks to soil organisms than larger microplastics due to their enhanced ability to penetrate biological barriers.

2022 Environmental Pollution 40 citations
Article Tier 2

UV-aged nanoplastics induced stronger biotoxicity to earthworms: Differential effects and the underlying mechanisms of pristine and aged polystyrene nanoplastics

Researchers compared the toxicity of pristine versus UV-aged polystyrene nanoplastics on earthworms and found that aged nanoplastics caused significantly stronger harmful effects. At higher concentrations, aged nanoplastics increased earthworm mortality by 11.1% and reduced reproduction, with the enhanced toxicity attributed to changes in surface properties that occur during environmental UV weathering.

2025 Environmental Pollution 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Size effects of polystyrene microplastics on the accumulation and toxicity of (semi-)metals in earthworms

Researchers studied how different sizes of polystyrene microplastics and nanoplastics affect the uptake of cadmium and arsenic in earthworms. They found that microplastics facilitated greater accumulation of these metals than nanoplastics by damaging intestinal integrity, with proteomic and metabolomic analysis revealing disruptions to the earthworms' immune and metabolic systems.

2021 Environmental Pollution 51 citations
Article Tier 2

New Insights into Nanoplastics Ecotoxicology: Effects of Long-Term Polystyrene Nanoparticles Exposure on Folsomia candida

A multigenerational study exposed the soil springtail Folsomia candida to polystyrene nanoplastics for up to three generations, finding that long-term exposure produced reproductive impairment that worsened in F2 and F3 generations, indicating transgenerational ecotoxicological effects.

2023 Toxics 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Long-term nanoplastics exposure results in multi and trans-generational reproduction decline associated with germline toxicity and epigenetic regulation in Caenorhabditis elegans

Researchers discovered that a single exposure to nanoplastics in mother roundworms caused reproductive decline that persisted across four subsequent unexposed generations. The study found that nanoplastics triggered DNA damage and cell death in reproductive cells, with these effects passed down through epigenetic changes rather than direct nanoplastic transfer to offspring. This finding suggests that nanoplastic exposure may have lasting consequences for fertility that extend well beyond the initially exposed generation.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 157 citations
Article Tier 2

Activation of FGF signal in germline mediates transgenerational toxicity of polystyrene nanoparticles at predicted environmental concentrations in Caenorhabditis elegans

Using the roundworm C. elegans as a model, researchers investigated how nanoplastic exposure causes toxic effects that persist across generations. They found that polystyrene nanoparticles activate a specific growth factor signaling pathway in reproductive cells, which then transmits harmful effects to offspring. The study provides molecular evidence for how even low, environmentally relevant concentrations of nanoplastics can cause damage that carries over to future generations.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 41 citations
Article Tier 2

Potential toxicity of nanopolystyrene on lifespan and aging process of nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Researchers chronically exposed C. elegans to nanopolystyrene across their aging lifespan and found that high concentrations shortened lifespan while lower concentrations still impaired locomotion and elevated intestinal reactive oxygen species in older animals, with nanoplastic exposure progressively suppressing immune genes, antioxidant defenses, and mitochondrial stress responses as worms aged.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 91 citations
Article Tier 2

Molecular mechanisms of nano-sized polystyrene plastics induced cytotoxicity and immunotoxicity in Eisenia fetida

Researchers studied how polystyrene nanoplastics affect earthworm immune cells and found that exposure caused significant oxidative stress, DNA damage, and weakened immune function. The nanoplastics physically bound to and damaged lysozyme, a key immune protein, impairing the earthworms' ability to fight off infections. Since earthworms are essential soil organisms, this immune damage could have cascading effects on soil health and the agricultural systems that humans depend on.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 39 citations