Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Exposure to known and emerging groundwater contaminants significantly alters poultry microbiome and metabolome

Researchers exposed broiler chickens to low-level mixtures of agricultural chemicals and microplastics via contaminated groundwater and found that gut microbial communities and metabolic pathways were significantly altered — including disrupted energy metabolism and cofactor availability — without observable intestinal damage, revealing a form of subclinical dysbiosis.

2026 Applied and Environmental Microbiology
Article Tier 2

Environmental microplastics exposure decreases antioxidant ability, perturbs gut microbial homeostasis and metabolism in chicken

Researchers studied the effects of microplastic exposure on chickens and found that it decreased growth performance and antioxidant capacity while causing damage to the intestine, liver, kidney, and spleen. The study also revealed significant changes in gut microbiota composition, including decreased diversity and shifts in taxonomic makeup, suggesting microplastics disrupt gut microbial homeostasis in poultry.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 77 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental Microplastic Exposure Changes Gut Microbiota in Chickens

Researchers exposed chickens to environmentally relevant concentrations of microplastics and found that their growth performance decreased significantly. The gut microbiota composition was also altered, with changes in the abundance of several bacterial groups important for digestion and health. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in poultry environments could affect both animal welfare and the broader food production chain.

2023 Animals 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Gut dysbiosis: Nutritional causes and risk prevention in poultry, with reference to other animals

This review examines the causes and consequences of gut dysbiosis in poultry and other animals, identifying microplastics as one of several environmental pollutants that can disrupt gastrointestinal microbial communities. Researchers describe how reduced microbial diversity leads to inflammation, compromised gut barriers, and disorders affecting multiple organ systems. The study highlights that microplastics, along with heavy metals, pesticides, and other contaminants, contribute to the growing challenge of maintaining healthy gut microbiomes in animal populations.

2025 South African Journal of Animal Science 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics: a potential threat to gut microbiota and antioxidant capacity of broiler chickens

Researchers investigated the effects of microplastic exposure on broiler chickens and found significant increases in liver enzyme and oxidative stress markers alongside decreased antioxidant capacity. The study also revealed substantial disruption to gut microbiota, with reduced diversity and altered microbial community structure affecting energy metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and other key functions.

2026 Frontiers in Microbiology
Article Tier 2

Characteristics of microplastics in typical poultry farms and the association of environment microplastics colonized-microbiota, waterfowl gut microbiota, and antibiotic resistance genes

Researchers investigated microplastic contamination in poultry farm environments and in the intestines of farm-raised waterfowl for the first time. They found microplastics in soil, pond water, and bird guts, with the plastic surfaces hosting microbial communities that carried antibiotic resistance genes. This raises dual concerns: microplastics may both contaminate poultry meat that humans eat and help spread antibiotic-resistant bacteria through farming environments.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Co-occurrence of microplastics, PFASs, antibiotics, and antibiotic resistance genes in groundwater and their composite impacts on indigenous microbial communities: A field study

Researchers found that microplastics, PFAS "forever chemicals," antibiotics, and antibiotic resistance genes all co-occur in groundwater near a pharmaceutical and chemical industrial park. The microplastics appeared to act as carriers for these other contaminants, and the combined pollution disrupted native microbial communities, raising concerns about drinking water safety near industrial sites.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Multi stress system: Microplastics in freshwater and their effects on host microbiota

This study examined how combined exposure to microplastics and organic chemical pollutants affects freshwater organisms through a multi-stress approach, focusing on gut microbiome changes as an indicator. Microplastic exposure in combination with other pollutants altered microbiome composition more than either stressor alone, with potential consequences for host fitness and disease resistance.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Co-exposure to Polyethylene Fiber and Salmonella enterica Typhimurium Alters Microbiome and Metabolome of in vitro Chicken Cecal Mesocosms

An in vitro study using chicken cecal bacteria found that co-exposure to polyethylene microplastic fibers and Salmonella enterica Typhimurium altered the gut microbiome composition and metabolite profiles compared to either exposure alone, lowering the Firmicutes-to-Bacteroidetes ratio. The results suggest microplastics can modify how poultry gut bacteria interact with foodborne pathogens, with potential implications for food safety and human health through the food chain.

2023 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental Cadmium Exposure Perturbs Gut Microbial Dysbiosis in Ducks

Environmental cadmium exposure in ducks was found to perturb gut microbial diversity and community composition, with dysbiosis patterns suggesting that heavy metal contamination in agricultural environments can impair gut health in waterfowl.

2023 Veterinary Sciences 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic-induced gut microbiota and serum metabolic disruption in Sprague-Dawley rats

Researchers exposed rats to a mixture of common microplastic types at concentrations reflecting real-world human exposure and found significant disruptions to gut bacteria and blood metabolites. The microplastic mixture altered the balance of beneficial and harmful gut microbes and changed metabolic pathways related to amino acids and lipids. The study suggests that everyday microplastic exposure from food and water may affect mammalian gut health and metabolism.

2023 Environmental Pollution 40 citations
Article Tier 2

In vivo exposure of mixed microplastic particles in mice and its impacts on the murine gut microbiome and metabolome

Mice were orally exposed to a mixed polystyrene, polyethylene, and PLGA microplastic suspension for several weeks and gut microbiome composition and metabolomics were analyzed. Mixed microplastic exposure shifted the gut microbiome toward dysbiotic profiles in both male and female mice, with accompanying metabolome changes related to lipid and amino acid metabolism.

2025
Article Tier 2

The microbiomes of wildlife and chemical pollution: Status, knowledge gaps and challenges

This review examined how chemical pollutants including metals, pesticides, and microplastics alter the microbiomes of wild mammals, birds, and fish, identifying major knowledge gaps in understanding pollution-driven microbiome disruption in wildlife.

2023 Current Opinion in Toxicology 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Polyethylene microplastics impair chicken growth through gut microbiota-induced hepatic fatty acid metabolism dysfunction

This study showed that polyethylene microplastics, especially those containing chemical additives called phthalates, significantly slowed chicken growth by disrupting liver fat metabolism and gut bacteria. The microplastics altered the balance of intestinal microbes, which in turn affected how the liver processed fats. Since chickens are a major human food source, these findings raise questions about how microplastic contamination in poultry feed could affect both animal welfare and food quality.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions of microplastics with pesticides and anthelminthics mediate undesirable effects on microbial nitrogen cycling in agricultural soils

This study examined how microplastics (LDPE, PBAT, and starch-based) interact with pesticides and veterinary medicines to affect soil microbiota. The co-exposure of MPs with these agricultural chemicals produced undesirable effects on microbial communities beyond those of each contaminant alone.

2025 Refubium (Universitätsbibliothek der Freien Universität Berlin)
Article Tier 2

Multi-omics characterisation of Daphnia magna exposed to PFAS and microplastics: transcriptome and gut microbiome datasets

Researchers generated a multi-omics dataset from Daphnia magna exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of PFOS, PFOA, and PET microplastics, integrating gut microbiome 16S rRNA profiling and whole-organism transcriptomes to enable systems-level investigation of host-microbiome interactions under complex contaminant stress.

2025
Article Tier 2

The impact of polyethylene microplastics exposure on the, growth performance, reproductive performance, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal microbiota of quails

Researchers fed quails different levels of polyethylene microplastics and found that exposure harmed their growth, reproduction, and gut health. The microplastics reduced antioxidant defenses and disrupted the balance of beneficial bacteria in the birds' intestines. Since poultry is a major food source for people, microplastic contamination in farm animals raises concerns about indirect human exposure through the food chain.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecological risks of combination of multiple pollutants at environmentally relevant concentrations: Insights from the changes in life history traits, gut microbiota, and transcriptomic responses in Daphnia magna

Researchers exposed Daphnia magna to a combination of 11 pollutants including microplastics, antibiotics, and heavy metals at environmentally relevant ng/L–μg/L concentrations and found significant reductions in heart rate, reproduction, and lifespan, plus gut microbiota and transcriptomic changes — effects that single-pollutant studies would not predict.

2025 Resources Environment and Sustainability
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Exposure Across Trophic Levels: Effects on the Host Microbiota of Freshwater Organisms

Researchers investigated how microplastic exposure affects the gut bacteria communities of freshwater organisms including fish, invertebrates, and crustaceans. Microplastics—particularly when combined with pesticides—altered gut microbiota composition, which could impair digestion, immunity, and overall health of freshwater species.

2021 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Research Advances on the Impact of Environmental Pollutants on Gut Microbiota

This review synthesizes evidence from animal models, human studies, and mechanistic experiments showing how microplastics, pesticides, and heavy metals each disrupt gut microbiota composition, reduce beneficial bacteria, and compromise intestinal barrier integrity and host health.

2025 Theoretical and Natural Science
Article Tier 2

Responses of earthworm Metaphire vulgaris gut microbiota to arsenic and nanoplastics contamination

Researchers found that co-exposure to nanoplastics and arsenic significantly altered earthworm gut microbiota composition, with nanoplastics influencing arsenic biotransformation in the gut, revealing previously unknown interactions between these two soil contaminants.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 40 citations
Article Tier 2

The impact of polystyrene nanoplastics on the chicken gut and liver: Based on transcriptomics and microbiomics

Researchers fed polystyrene nanoplastics to chickens for 21 days and found that the particles triggered inflammation and oxidative stress in the gut and liver, damaged the intestinal lining, and disrupted the gut microbiome — with some effects persisting even after exposure stopped. Because poultry is a major protein source for humans globally, these findings raise concerns about nanoplastic contamination in the food supply.

2026 Poultry Science
Article Tier 2

Effects of Environmental Exposure on Host and Microbial Metabolism

This collection of studies investigates how environmental exposures, including microplastics, PFAS, and other emerging pollutants, disrupt the gut microbiota and alter host metabolism. The research covers a wide spectrum of contaminants and examines how they affect the trillions of microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract that play essential roles in human health. The findings suggest that environmental pollutants can drive metabolic changes by disrupting the balance between gut microbes and their human hosts.

2026
Article Tier 2

Dose-effect of polystyrene microplastics on digestive toxicity in chickens (Gallus gallus): Multi-omics reveals critical role of gut-liver axis

Researchers fed chickens different doses of polystyrene microplastics and used multi-omics analysis to study digestive system damage through the gut-liver axis. They found that microplastics disrupted gut barrier function, altered liver metabolism, and changed gut bacterial communities in a dose-dependent manner. The study provides detailed molecular evidence of how microplastics can damage the digestive health of poultry, which may have implications for food safety.

2022 Journal of Advanced Research 140 citations