PUBLICATION
Effects of pristine or contaminated polyethylene microplastics on zebrafish development
- Authors
- Tarasco, M., Gavaia, P.J., Bensimon-Brito, A., Cordelières, F.P., Santos, T., Martins, G., de Castro, D.T., Silva, N., Cabrita, E., Bebianno, M.J., Stainier, D.Y.R., Cancela, M.L., Laizé, V.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-220607-8
- Date
- 2022
- Source
- Chemosphere 303(Pt 3): 135198 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Bensimon-Brito, Anabela, Cancela, Leonor, Stainier, Didier
- Keywords
- Benzo[α]pyrene, Development, Intergenerational effect, Microplastics, Osteotoxicity, Polyethylene, Reproduction, Zebrafish
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- Benzo(a)pyrene/analysis
- Ecosystem
- Larva
- Microplastics*/toxicity
- Plastics/metabolism
- Polyethylene/metabolism
- Water Pollutants, Chemical*/analysis
- Zebrafish/metabolism
- PubMed
- 35660050 Full text @ Chemosphere
Citation
Tarasco, M., Gavaia, P.J., Bensimon-Brito, A., Cordelières, F.P., Santos, T., Martins, G., de Castro, D.T., Silva, N., Cabrita, E., Bebianno, M.J., Stainier, D.Y.R., Cancela, M.L., Laizé, V. (2022) Effects of pristine or contaminated polyethylene microplastics on zebrafish development. Chemosphere. 303(Pt 3):135198.
Abstract
The presence of microplastics in the aquatic ecosystem represents a major issue for the environment and human health. The capacity of organic pollutants to adsorb onto microplastic particles raises additional concerns, as it creates a new route for toxic compounds to enter the food web. Current knowledge on the impact of pristine and/or contaminated microplastics on aquatic organisms remains insufficient, and we provide here new insights by evaluating their biological effects in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Zebrafish larvae were raised in ZEB316 stand-alone housing systems and chronically exposed throughout their development to polyethylene particles of 20-27 μm, pristine (MP) or spiked with benzo [α]pyrene (MP-BaP), supplemented at 1% w/w in the fish diet. While they had no effect at 30 days post-fertilization (dpf), MP and MP-BaP affected growth parameters at 90 and 360 dpf. Relative fecundity, egg morphology, and yolk area were also impaired in zebrafish fed MP-BaP. Zebrafish exposed to experimental diets exhibited an increased incidence of skeletal deformities at 30 dpf as well as an impaired development of caudal fin/scales, and a decreased bone quality at 90 dpf. An intergenerational bone formation impairment was also observed in the offspring of parents exposed to MP or MP-BaP through a reduction of the opercular bone in 6 dpf larvae. Beside a clear effect on bone development, histological analysis of the gut revealed a reduced number of goblet cells in zebrafish fed MP-BaP diet, a sign of intestinal inflammation. Finally, exposure of larvae to MP-BaP up-regulated the expression of genes associated with the BaP response pathway, while negatively impacting the expression of genes involved in oxidative stress. Altogether, these data suggest that long-term exposure to pristine/contaminated microplastics not only jeopardizes fish growth, reproduction performance, and skeletal health, but also causes intergenerational effects.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping