State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China.
Hong Kong Branch of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou) and Department of Ocean Science, School of Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2020 Dec 15;206:111382. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2020.111382. Epub 2020 Oct 1.
Waterborne exposure to highly persistent microplastic pollutants is a major concern for aquatic species worldwide. There are still gaps in knowledge on microplastics' potential transgenerational effects on offspring generation. Using zebrafish, this study investigated the survival and early development of offspring through a 21-day continuous parental treatment with polystyrene microplastics. The results showed that continuous waterborne exposure to high concentrations (>100 μg/L) of polystyrene microplastics (1 μm) for 21 days resulted in notable microplastic accumulation in adult fish intestines. Exposure at microplastic concentrations greater than 100 μg/L also induced significant changes in steroidogenic mRNA expression in zebrafish gonads. However, no significant changes in the cumulative number of eggs spawned and fertilization rate were observed at any parental exposure concentrations when compared to the control. Early development of derived offspring, in terms of hatching rate, body length, malformation rate and mortality rate, did not significantly differ from that of the control. This study showed that transgenerational effects of parental exposure to polystyrene microplastics in zebrafish might be negligible or recoverable. This study provided new results and insights on the transgenerational effects of microplastics on a freshwater fish species and can help to understand impacts of microplastics on freshwater ecosystems.
水相暴露于高持久性微塑料污染物对全球水生物种是一个主要关注点。对于微塑料对子代潜在的跨代效应，我们的知识仍然存在空白。本研究使用斑马鱼，通过 21 天连续的母体聚苯乙烯微塑料处理，研究了后代的生存和早期发育。结果表明，连续 21 天水相暴露于高浓度（>100μg/L）的聚苯乙烯微塑料（1μm）会导致成年鱼肠道中明显的微塑料积累。暴露于微塑料浓度大于 100μg/L 也会诱导斑马鱼性腺中类固醇生成 mRNA 表达的显著变化。然而，与对照组相比，在任何母体暴露浓度下，产卵总数和受精率均未观察到显著变化。衍生后代的早期发育，在孵化率、体长、畸形率和死亡率方面，与对照组没有显著差异。本研究表明，亲代暴露于聚苯乙烯微塑料对斑马鱼的跨代效应可能是可以忽略不计或可恢复的。本研究为微塑料对淡水鱼类的跨代效应提供了新的结果和见解，并有助于了解微塑料对淡水生态系统的影响。
