
Molecules, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 30(7), P. 1608 - 1608
Published: April 3, 2025
Microplastics (MPs), ubiquitous environmental pollutants, pose substantial threats to aquatic ecosystems and organisms, including the model species Daphnia magna. This study examined effects of polyethylene (PE) polystyrene (PS) MPs on D. magna, focusing their ingestion, epigenetic alterations, transcriptional responses. Exposure experiments revealed a concentration-dependent accumulation MPs, with PS particles showing higher ingestion rates due density propensity for aggregation. Epigenetic analyses demonstrated that exposure PE significantly reduced global DNA methylation (5-mC) suggesting hypomethylation as potential stress response. Conversely, hydroxymethylation (5-hmC) magna displayed variability under exposure. Transcriptional analysis identified marked downregulation Vitellogenin 1 (v1) upregulation Ecdysone Receptor B (ecr-b), highlighting occurrence stress-related adaptive molecular These findings enhance our understanding offering critical insights development effective management conservation strategies in face escalating MP pollution.
Language: Английский