Abstract
As wide-spread pollutants in the marine environment, microplastics (MPs) have raised public concern about potential toxic effects in aquatic organisms, and, among others, MPs were suspected to act as a vector for organic pollutants to biota. The purpose of the present study was to investigate effects by three model pollutants, oxybenzone (BP3), benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) adsorbed to polyethylene MPs on the basis of a standard assay, the acute fish embryo toxicity test (FET; OECD TG 236) with zebrafish (Danio rerio) supplemented by additional endpoints such as induction of ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity, modification of cyp1a gene transcription and changes in larval swimming behavior. FET assays were performed in three laboratories using slightly different husbandry and exposure conditions, which, however, were all fully compatible with the limits defined by OECD TG 236. This allowed for testing of potential changes in the FET assay due to protocol variations. The standard endpoints of the FET (acute embryotoxicity) did not reveal any acute toxicity for both virgin MPs and MPs spiked with BP3, BaP and PFOS. With respect to sublethal endpoints, EROD activity was increased after exposure to MPs spiked with BP3 (3 h pulse) and MPs spiked with BaP (96 h continuous exposure). Cyp1a transcription was increased upon exposure to MPs spiked with BP3 or BaP. For the selected combination of MPs particles and contaminants, the basic FET proved not sensitive enough to reveal effects of (virgin and spiked) MPs. However, given that the FET can easily be supplemented by a broad variety of more subtle and sensitive endpoints, an enhanced FET protocol may provide a relevant approach with developmental stages of a vertebrate animal model, which is not protected by current EU animal welfare legislation (Directive EU 2010/63).
Highlights
Plastics have become an indispensable part of our daily life and yield important societal benefits (Andrady and Neal, 2009)
Under both laboratory and field conditions, different MPs have been shown to adsorb various classes of organic pollutants such as per- and polyfluorinated compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides and personal care products (Rochman et al, 2013a,b; Ziccardi et al, 2016), and the relative contribution of MPs to the transfer of organic pollutants to biota has for long been subject to controversy (Bakir et al, 2016; Koelmans et al, 2016; Lohmann, 2017)
The purpose of the present study was, to use the standard fish embryo toxicity test (FET) procedure to document the acute toxicity of MPs and MPs spiked with selected organic pollutants (BP3, BaP, and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS))
Summary
Plastics have become an indispensable part of our daily life and yield important societal benefits (Andrady and Neal, 2009). MPs particles have been shown to adsorb significant amounts of organic pollutants from the surrounding environment (Mato et al, 2001; Rios et al, 2007; Barnes et al, 2009; Koelmans et al, 2016), and weathering processes as well as mechanical fragmentation of MPs lead to smaller particles and may increase the specific reactive surface area of particles and facilitate further the sorption of pollutants (Teuten et al, 2007; Koelmans et al, 2013; Lee et al, 2014) Under both laboratory and field conditions, different MPs have been shown to adsorb various classes of organic pollutants such as per- and polyfluorinated compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides and personal care products (Rochman et al, 2013a,b; Ziccardi et al, 2016), and the relative contribution of MPs to the transfer of organic pollutants to biota has for long been subject to controversy (Bakir et al, 2016; Koelmans et al, 2016; Lohmann, 2017)
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