Science of the Total Environment最新文献

{"title":"Removal of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from different water types by techniques based on anion exchange (AIX), powdered activated carbon (PAC), iron(III) chloride and nanofiltration (NF) membrane – A systematic comparison","authors":"Lutz Ahrens ,&nbsp;Sandra Lundgren ,&nbsp;Philip McCleaf ,&nbsp;Stephan Köhler","doi":"10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Presence of <em>per</em>- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in groundwater and surface water used for drinking water production is a major concern, due to possible adverse effects of PFAS on human health. Stricter guidelines on PFAS levels in drinking water currently being implemented on global scale typically require use of advanced techniques for water treatment. The aim of this study was to systematically compare four different treatment techniques for removal of PFAS and to evaluate the impact of water type on the removal efficiency. We hypothesized that the water type has a significant influence on the removal efficiency for the tested treatment techniques. The four different treatment techniques included i) anion exchange (AIX) MIEX®, ii) powdered activated carbon (PAC), iii) coagulation with ferric chloride (FeCl₃), and iv) nanofiltration (NF) membrane. Mean ∑PFAS removal was found to be highest for NF membrane (48 ± 7.6 %), followed by AIX (30 ± 7.7 %), PAC (18 ± 3.7 %) and FeCl₃ (8.8 ± 8.9 %). For NF membrane, observed removal efficiency of PFAS was best described by a sigmoid curve centred around 400 Da, with low removal (25–35 %) of low-molecular-weight PFAS (&lt;400 Da) and higher removal (47–75 %) of PFAS with greater molecular weight (&gt;400 Da). For AIX and PAC, PFAS removal depended on perfluorocarbon chain length and functional group, e.g. mean ∑PFAS removal efficiency significantly increased (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05) from 12 % using a PAC dose of 20 mg L⁻¹ to 46 % using a PAC dose of 100 mg L⁻¹. Significant correlations were observed between removal of individual PFAS and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) removal and DOC characterisation parameters (specific ultra-violet absorbance (SUVA), humification index (HIX), freshness index (FI), absorbance at 254 nm (UV254)). This illustrates the importance of considering DOC characteristics and their seasonal variations when choosing PFAS removal technique and indicates potential of these parameters as predictors of PFAS removal efficiency.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":422,"journal":{"name":"Science of the Total Environment","volume":"970 ","pages":"Article 179004"},"PeriodicalIF":8.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143552712","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Aflatoxin B1 exposure induces Alzheimer's disease like pathology by disrupting redox homeostasis and activating ferroptotic signals in C57BL/6 J mice","authors":"Jinxian Lin ,&nbsp;Huihui Hong ,&nbsp;Sicheng Liu ,&nbsp;Zhengwei Liang ,&nbsp;Qixue Zheng ,&nbsp;Kun Luo ,&nbsp;Jiayi Li ,&nbsp;Zhulin Du ,&nbsp;Jinping Yu ,&nbsp;Lingling Yang ,&nbsp;Ping Deng ,&nbsp;Huifeng Pi ,&nbsp;Zhengping Yu ,&nbsp;Wei Yuan ,&nbsp;Zhou Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179049","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179049","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is one of the most toxic mycotoxins with neurotoxicity. Human exposure to AFB1 via contaminated foodstuffs has been linked to the risk of cognitive impairment, which may contribute to the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of AD in relation to AFB1 exposure is not clear. Herein, C57BL/6 J mice were exposed to 1.5 mg/L AFB1 in drinking water for 8 weeks. It was found that AFB1 damaged blood-brain barrier function, accumulated in the brain, and led to cognitive impairments and AD-like pathology in the hippocampus. Impaired cognitive function was indicated by the significant alterations in Morris' water maze and Y-maze tests at 8 weeks after AFB1 exposure. Concurrently, AD-like pathology was evinced by a marked neuronal loss and the up-regulated AD related gene and protein expressions in the hippocampus. AFB1 exposure remarkably disrupted redox homeostasis and induced ferroptosis both in the hippocampus at 8 weeks after AFB1 exposure and in cultured hippocampal neuron in vitro as indicated by the suppressions on SOD and CAT activities, the down-regulation of Slc7a11/Gpx4 expressions, the decline in GSH content, the increase in MDA and the lipid peroxidation. AFB1 exposure also increased Fe²⁺ content significantly at 8 weeks after exposure. In addition, we demonstrated that ferroptosis inhibition by Fer-1 obviously alleviated AFB1 neurotoxicity in HT22 cells. These results revealed an unknown pivotal role of ferroptosis in AFB1 neurotoxicity in relation to AD pathogenesis and emphasized the importance to reduce the health risk of AFB1 exposure as an etiology of AD in humans.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":422,"journal":{"name":"Science of the Total Environment","volume":"970 ","pages":"Article 179049"},"PeriodicalIF":8.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143552713","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Carbon emissions from stumps vary by species but not sprouting in a temperate hardwood forest","authors":"Morgan L. Arteman ,&nbsp;Jodi A. Forrester ,&nbsp;Tara L. Keyser","doi":"10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179059","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179059","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cut stumps can be temporary hot spots of carbon emissions due to connections to decaying root systems. Drivers of variation in stump decomposition have yet to be clearly identified, including interactions with stump sprouting, an important regeneration pathway after harvest in temperate deciduous forests. The aim of this study was to identify the effects of sprouting relative to other abiotic and biotic factors on carbon emissions from cut stumps. We measured carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) flux from the surface of cut stumps 0–4 years following a canopy gap harvest in an upland mixed-oak forest in the southern Appalachians, U.S. Stumps were a CO₂ source for all years with flux values ranging from 0.14 to 227.5 μmol CO₂ m⁻² s⁻¹. Instantaneous CH₄ flux was largely positive (81 %) and ranged from −0.32 to 201.6 nmol CH₄ m⁻² s⁻¹. Sprouting did not affect CO₂ or CH₄ flux despite decreasing stump surface temperature and increasing wood moisture. Both CO₂ and CH₄ flux were stable over time since harvest and differed most strongly by genus. Using an average annual C-CO₂ emission rate of 2.6 kg C m⁻² of stump surface yr⁻¹ and preharvest basal area (42 m² ha⁻¹), the annual C-CO₂ loss from stumps was estimated to be 109 kg C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ (16.6 and 800.2 kg C ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ 95CI) near-term to gap harvest. Understanding factors influencing the variability in carbon emissions from stump decomposition is critical as we test sustainable forest management approaches that optimize climate change adaptation and mitigation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":422,"journal":{"name":"Science of the Total Environment","volume":"970 ","pages":"Article 179059"},"PeriodicalIF":8.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143563025","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genetic diversity of dissolved free extracellular DNA compared to intracellular DNA in wastewater treatment plants","authors":"Soichiro Tamai ,&nbsp;Miki Okuno ,&nbsp;Yoshitoshi Ogura ,&nbsp;Yoshihiro Suzuki","doi":"10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178989","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178989","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Dissolved free extracellular DNA (free-exDNA) coexists with intracellular DNA (inDNA) in aquatic environments. Free-exDNA can be taken up by bacteria through transformation, and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are positioned as potential hot spots for genetic contamination. However, studies comparing the composition of free-exDNA and inDNA is limited. This study employed colloidal adsorption and foam concentration method to recover free-exDNA from different WWTP stages and compared its diversity with inDNA via metagenomic analysis. Free-exDNA concentrations were observed to increase after chlorination. Genetic analysis revealed a higher abundance of specific genes following chlorination, suggesting that free-exDNA in effluent originated from bacterial death in secondary treated water. This result indicates that free-exDNA, which increases due to chlorination, is subsequently released into the catchment. Additionally, several high-risk antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) were detected that colocalized with mobile genetic elements. These ARGs were expected to have a high potential for gene transfer via transformation, and the risk was highlighted. Overall, these findings deepen our understanding of horizontal gene transfer risks in WWTPs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":422,"journal":{"name":"Science of the Total Environment","volume":"970 ","pages":"Article 178989"},"PeriodicalIF":8.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143552290","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Similar antimicrobial resistance and virulence profiles among Aeromonas isolates from recreational beaches, post-chlorinated wastewater and clinical samples in Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA","authors":"Brooke E. Bojar ,&nbsp;Anthony T. Craig III ,&nbsp;Anamarie Leduc ,&nbsp;Max Blumenthal ,&nbsp;Barbara Mayo ,&nbsp;Alia S. Ahmed ,&nbsp;Caitlin Cahak ,&nbsp;Rachelle Beattie ,&nbsp;Troy Skwor","doi":"10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179035","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179035","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The genus <em>Aeromonas</em> consists of Gram-negative facultative anaerobes that are ubiquitous in water and soil environments. Traditionally considered fish pathogens, members of the genus <em>Aeromonas</em> have received increasing attention over the years due to their association with human diseases. Furthermore, given their omnipresence and genetic flexibility, this genus is positioned at the intersection of One Health components and may disproportionately contribute to the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the environment. To form a more complete picture of the relationship between <em>Aeromonas</em> and AMR dissemination, we assessed the prevalence, species composition, AMR and virulence profiles, and cytotoxicity of <em>Aeromonas</em> isolates from post-chlorinated wastewater effluents (WW), adjacent beach sands, and local clinics. Our data show that <em>Aeromonas</em> represents approximately 22–50 % of culturable bacteria across all three beaches. The species composition across beaches, WW, and the clinic were similar, and two of the four most notable pathogens, <em>A. hydrophila</em> and <em>A. caviae</em>, were present in all three sources. Conversely, AMR and multi-drug resistant (MDR) populations were significantly more prevalent in WW and the clinic compared to the beaches. Assessments of virulence genes and cytotoxic phenotypes revealed that while isolates carrying <em>act</em> were significantly associated with cytotoxic phenotypes, there were minimal differences between cytotoxicity and source, despite the relative abundance of <em>act</em> and <em>hlyA</em> in the clinic compared to the beach and WW. Our data suggests that environmental <em>Aeromonas</em> populations may be capable of higher AMR acquisition rates potentially causing infection in humans to a greater extent than is currently observed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":422,"journal":{"name":"Science of the Total Environment","volume":"970 ","pages":"Article 179035"},"PeriodicalIF":8.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143552282","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Larval consumption of Cry1F maize pollen causes adverse effects in four non-target Lepidoptera species.","authors":"Marina S Lee, Matthias Dolek, Mathias Otto, Andreas Lang","doi":"10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178951","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.178951","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The cultivation of genetically modified maize expressing Bt proteins against Lepidopteran pests poses a risk for non-target (NT) Lepidoptera, particularly for species inhabiting agroecosystems and whose larvae are susceptible to Bt toxins expressed in maize pollen. Here, laboratory studies were conducted to determine the adverse effects of larval exposure to Cry1F pollen (event TC1507) on host plants on two butterfly (Pieris napi, Aglais io) and two moth species (Plutella xylostella, Ematurga atomaria). All NT Lepidoptera tested were affected by the Cry1F toxin in the pollen, albeit in different degrees depending on the species and the recorded parameter. Adverse sublethal effects of increasing Bt pollen concentrations included reduced larval feeding, lower larval body weight and prolonged development times, but no significant effects on adult size or fecundity were observed. Dose-response mortality, measured when all survivors reached adult stage, showed that three species were susceptible to field-realistic pollen concentrations (LC₅₀ = 76, 126 and 171 Cry1F pollen grains/cm² on host plants for P. xylostella, E. atomaria, and A. io, respectively), whereas P. napi was only affected by higher concentrations (5070 Cry1F pollen grains/cm²). Assessing mortality at day seven substantially underestimated effects compared to the end of the larval period highlighting the importance of experiment duration until adulthood to detect delayed effects, and stressing the need for more ecologically realistic testing conditions for risk assessment. Given the fact that only few data exist on the susceptibility of non-pest Lepidoptera to Cry1F, our results indicate that NT Lepidoptera populations may be more vulnerable to the cultivation of Cry1F maize TC1507 than previously assumed.</p>","PeriodicalId":422,"journal":{"name":"Science of the Total Environment","volume":" ","pages":"178951"},"PeriodicalIF":8.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143571811","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Baseflow CO₂ fluxes in small tropical rivers driven by hydrological dynamics","authors":"Daniela Vasconcelos Machado ,&nbsp;Eduardo Duarte Marques ,&nbsp;Andréa da Consolação de Oliveira Carvalho ,&nbsp;Eduardo Paim Viglio ,&nbsp;Everton Assunção Martins dos Santos ,&nbsp;Rozane Valente Marins ,&nbsp;Gerson Cardoso da Silva Júnior ,&nbsp;Emmanoel Vieira Silva-Filho","doi":"10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179015","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179015","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Dry season CO₂ fluxes were estimated for 1418 small rivers and streams in the Upper São Francisco Basin (USFB), Brazil. This first basin-scale estimate revealed a substantial contribution of 1.52 Pg C yr⁻¹ (95 % confidence interval: 1.40 to 1.64 Pg C yr⁻¹). pCO₂ values, calculated from pH and total alkalinity (TA) and subsequently corrected, ranged from 66 to 20,200 μatm (2191 ± 1791 μatm; coefficient of variation of 82 %). Approximately 95 % of rivers exhibited evasive fluxes with bed friction dissipation as the dominant control on turbulence in over 85 %. Analysis of gas transfer velocity (k₆₀₀) parameterizations revealed significant inter-equation differences, high spatial variability, and strong slope influence. These findings highlight the potentially role of small tropical rivers and streams in global carbon cycling and provide the first CO₂ emission estimate for the USFB.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":422,"journal":{"name":"Science of the Total Environment","volume":"970 ","pages":"Article 179015"},"PeriodicalIF":8.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143552732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A novel approach to source apportionment of VOCs with high potential for ozone and SOA formation using high-resolution data and intraday variability","authors":"Elson Silva Galvão ,&nbsp;Jane Meri Santos ,&nbsp;Elisa Valentim Goulart ,&nbsp;Prashant Kumar ,&nbsp;Joel F. de Brito ,&nbsp;Neyval Costa Reis Junior","doi":"10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179024","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179024","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) include a wide range of chemicals, some of which act as precursors to tropospheric ozone and secondary organic aerosols. These compounds are released into the atmosphere from a wide range of sources. We conducted a source apportionment analysis of the hourly concentrations of 16 VOCs with the highest potential to contribute to O₃ and SOA formation. VOCs were monitored over an 18-month period in an urbanized and industrialized coastal region in Brazil. A novel approach not previously utilized in the literature, incorporating the Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model while accounting for intraday VOC patterns and their dependence on wind direction was used. This method enabled us to identify source contributions during specific times of the day when certain sources had stronger impact. The analysis revealed five factors representing contributions from solvent usage (6–13 %), industrial processes (11–13 %), fuel evaporation (4–13 %), vehicular exhaust (43–46 %), and coke ovens (25–26 %). Some VOCs exhibited hourly variations influenced by both time of day and wind direction, and their respective lifetimes, with long-lived species such as benzene, n-pentane, and ethylbenzene being prevalent between 00:00 and 11:59, correlating with aged air masses, while short-lived species like 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene showed greater directional variability, linked to prevailing winds, indicating recent contributions, suggesting the likely locations of sources. This intraday variation resulted in unique source impacts, highlighting a time dependence that influences source apportionment throughout the day. As a result, source apportionment based on these periodic VOC variations provided valuable insights for developing targeted mitigation strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":422,"journal":{"name":"Science of the Total Environment","volume":"970 ","pages":"Article 179024"},"PeriodicalIF":8.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143552285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nitrate-N trends in Mississippi and Atchafalaya River Basin Watersheds: Exploring correlations of watershed features with nutrient trends components 2000–2020","authors":"Alejandra Botero-Acosta ,&nbsp;Gregory F. McIsaac ,&nbsp;Ellen Gilinsky ,&nbsp;Richard Warner ,&nbsp;Jong S. Lee","doi":"10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179042","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179042","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nutrient reduction strategies in the Mississippi and Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB) have been implemented to attenuate drinking water concerns and hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Of all nutrients, nitrate has been identified as the principal cause of Gulf hypoxia, with loads coming disproportionately from the Upper Mississippi River Basin and the Corn Belt region. Identifying long-term changes of riverine nitrate would provide valuable information to evaluate the performance of reduction strategies. The objective of this study was to estimate the flow-normalized (FN) nitrate-N concentration and yield trends for the 2000–2020 period across the MARB at monitoring sites with adequate data. A harmonization and in-depth screening of paired nitrate-N and streamflow datasets resulted in a robust water quality monitoring network of 217 sites. Trends magnitude and likelihood were computed using the Weighted Regression on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) coupled to a bootstrap test, and trends results were correlated with basin features and initial values of concentrations and yields. The impact of streamflow long-term variations on trends was separated from all other factors through stationary and non-stationary flow normalizations. Results indicated that 59.4 % of the 217 sites had likely decreasing concentration trends, while 27.7 % likely increased, and the remaining 12.9 % had no likely change detected. Reductions in riverine FN nitrate-N were predominant at watersheds dominated by cultivated cropland areas having relatively high FN concentrations and yields in 2000 followed by likely downward trends. For the vast majority of sites, the non-streamflow component was more dominant, but the streamflow component was nonetheless influential.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":422,"journal":{"name":"Science of the Total Environment","volume":"970 ","pages":"Article 179042"},"PeriodicalIF":8.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143552286","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Toxic interactions between fluoxetine and microplastics in zebrafish embryonic development","authors":"José Manuel Orozco-Hernández ,&nbsp;Josué David Hernández-Varela ,&nbsp;Leobardo Manuel Gómez-Oliván ,&nbsp;José Jorge Chanona-Pérez ,&nbsp;Misael Hernández-Díaz ,&nbsp;Nely San Juan-Reyes ,&nbsp;Karina Elisa Rosales-Pérez ,&nbsp;Sindy San Juan-Reyes","doi":"10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179040","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179040","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The increasing use of antidepressants, especially fluoxetine (FLX), has resulted in their presence in aquatic environments due to wastewater discharges from municipal, industrial, and hospital sources. Simultaneously, microplastics (MPs) have been extensively studied in short-term (acute) exposures, showing adverse effects such as oxidative stress, behavioral alterations and neurotoxicity. However, the embryotoxic and teratogenic effects of these compounds, as well as their impacts on the survival, development, morphology, behavior, and reproduction of fish embryos in aquatic ecosystems, remain limited. This study evaluated the toxic effects of FLX (5, 40 ng/L), MPs (25, 100 particles/L) and their mixtures (FLX-MPs) at environmentally relevant concentrations. Microscopic characterization of fluorescent MPs was performed, and their presence was evaluated in <em>Danio rerio</em> embryos at 24 and 96 hpf, observing their localization in the chorion. In embryotoxicity and teratogenesis tests, FLX (100 ng/L) increased the rate of malformations, including deformations of the spine (CD), tail (TM) and hypopigmentation (H); MPs induced scoliosis (S), tail deformation (TM), incomplete hatching (IE) and a dose-dependent increase in malformations. FLX-MPs mixtures caused pericardial edema (PE), tail and spine deformation, delayed hatching (HR) and increased mortality. Oxidative damage analysis showed that FLX (40 ng/L) dose-dependently increased SOD and CAT activities, with an increase in cellular oxidation biomarkers (LPX, POX, HPX). Besides, MPs (100 particles/L) showed similar effects, with increased SOD, CAT, POX and HPX activities. The FLX-MPs mixture showed the most pronounced response. In gene expression, FLX (5, 40 ng/L) modulated genes such as <em>bax</em>, <em>blc2</em> and <em>casp3</em>. MPs (25, 100 particles/L) induced the expression of <em>bax</em>, <em>blc2</em>, <em>p53</em> and <em>casp3</em>. FLX-MPs mixtures (25 particles/L-40 ng/L, 100 particles/L-40 ng/L) expressed <em>nfr1</em>, <em>p53</em>, <em>nfe2l2a</em> and <em>casp3</em>. Histological damage revealed abnormal muscle fibers (AMF) and yolk sac edema (YSE) at 40 ng/L FLX, and lamellar fusion (LF) and scoliosis (S) in MPs (100 particles/L). Brain swelling (IBT) and neuromast loss (NL) were detected in FLX-MPs mixtures. In conclusion, both FLX and MPs and their combinations affect the embryonic development and physiological state of <em>Danio rerio</em>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":422,"journal":{"name":"Science of the Total Environment","volume":"970 ","pages":"Article 179040"},"PeriodicalIF":8.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143552289","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}