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Applied Sciences
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Emerging Effects of Pollutants in the Aquatic Environment
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Emerging Effects of Pollutants in the Aquatic Environment

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 December 2021) | Viewed by 9907

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Melissa Faria

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CSIC - Instituto de Diagnostico Ambiental y Estudios del Agua (IDAEA), 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Interests: environmental chemistry; system biology; ecotoxicology; stress biology and animal physiology
Dr. Laia Navarro-Martin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CSIC - Instituto de Diagnostico Ambiental y Estudios del Agua (IDAEA), 08034 Barcelona, Spain
Interests: gene-environment interactions; environmental epigenomics and transcriptomics; endocrine disruption; ecotoxicology; aquatic toxicology; systems toxicology; multi-omics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over two-thirds of our planet is covered by aquatic ecosystems which are continuously being exploited to provide a large array of services for a fast-growing human population. Consequently, large amounts of chemicals are being released into the aquatic environment on a daily basis, causing deleterious effects for these systems and their inhabitants. Some of these have been known for decades (or longer) while others are new, and their effects are yet to be fully uncovered. The tremendous scale of the current problem and realistic (and dismal) future projections are urging the environmental assessment of the effects of such emergent chemicals through the development of new assessment tools and conceptual approaches, such as the use of imaging and omic technologies to perform medium- to high-throughput toxicity tests on well-known aquatic vertebrate and invertebrate model species. Indeed, such tools have allowed for the detection of new forms of contamination as well as uncovering the multi-level mechanisms of action for both classic and emerging contaminants in aquatic species. For example, tributyltin has been found to disrupt lipid homeostasis in Daphnia magna during the molting and reproductive cycles, while metal and organic contaminants at environmentally relevant concentrations increase the susceptibility of fish to predation.

This Special Issue supports research using novel ecotoxicological approaches to uncover new mechanisms of action for classic and emerging contaminants in invertebrate and fish species. Studies that address the effects at multiple levels of organization upon exposure to relevant concentrations are encouraged.

Authors are welcome to submit original research papers, reviews, and short communications.

Dr. Melissa Faria
Dr. Laia Navarro-Martin
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • emerging effects
  • aquatic organisms
  • mechanisms of action
  • environmentally relevant concentrations
  • multi-level mechanisms

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2765 KiB  
Article
Chronic Effects of Fluoxetine on Danio rerio: A Biochemical and Behavioral Perspective
by Daniela Correia, Inês Domingues, Melissa Faria and Miguel Oliveira
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(4), 2256; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app12042256 - 21 Feb 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2376
Abstract
Fluoxetine is an antidepressant widely used to treat depressive and anxiety states. Due to its mode of action in the central nervous system (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)), it becomes toxic to non-target organisms, leading to changes that are harmful to their survival. [...] Read more.
Fluoxetine is an antidepressant widely used to treat depressive and anxiety states. Due to its mode of action in the central nervous system (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)), it becomes toxic to non-target organisms, leading to changes that are harmful to their survival. In this work, the effects of fluoxetine on juvenile zebrafish (Danio rerio) were evaluated, assessing biochemical (phase II biotransformation—glutathione S-transferase (GST), neurotransmission—acetylcholinesterase (ChE), energy metabolism—lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and oxidative stress—glutathione peroxidase (GPx)) and behavior endpoints (swimming behavior, social behavior, and thigmotaxis) after 21 days exposure to 0 (control), 0.1, 1 and 10 µg/L. Biochemically, although chronic exposure did not induce significant effects on neurotransmission and energy metabolism, GPx activity was decreased after exposure to 10 µg/L of fluoxetine. At a behavioral level, exploratory and social behavior was not affected. However, changes in the swimming pattern of exposed fish were observed in light and dark periods (decreased locomotor activity). Overall, the data show that juvenile fish chronically exposed to fluoxetine may exhibit behavioral changes, affecting their ability to respond to environmental stressors and the interaction with other fish. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Effects of Pollutants in the Aquatic Environment)
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8 pages, 694 KiB  
Article
Effects of Benzo[a]pyrene, Cortisol, and 17ß-Estradiol on Liver Microsomal EROD Activity of Anguilla anguilla: An In Vitro Approach
by C.S.S. Ferreira, Miguel Oliveira, Maria Ana Santos and Mário Pacheco
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(6), 2533; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app11062533 - 12 Mar 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1457
Abstract
Fish liver ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity is widely used as biomarker of exposure to chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). It is known that endocrine system plays a major role in fish stress mechanism. Despite the considerable scientific information about steroid hormone’s response, [...] Read more.
Fish liver ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity is widely used as biomarker of exposure to chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). It is known that endocrine system plays a major role in fish stress mechanism. Despite the considerable scientific information about steroid hormone’s response, namely cortisol and 17ß-estradiol (E2), to stress situations, little is known about the influence of these hormones on enzymes involved on the biotransformation process. Thus, this study aimed to assess the in vitro effects of environmentally relevant concentrations of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) (0.1, 0.3, 0.9, and 2.7 µM) and of two steroid hormones (cortisol and 17ß-estradiol) in a physiologically relevant concentration (5.997 ng/mL), alone or in combination, on Anguilla anguilla liver microsomal EROD activity, previously induced by 4 mg/kg β-naphthoflavone intraperitoneal injection. Hepatic microsomes in vitro exposure to the tested B[a]P concentrations induced a dose response inhibition of EROD activity, whereas exposure to cortisol significantly induced the activity of this enzyme. The steroid hormones were able to decrease the inhibitory effects of B[a]P on microsomal EROD activity, thus revealing a protective effect of these hormones over enzyme activity inhibited by contaminants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Effects of Pollutants in the Aquatic Environment)
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15 pages, 2324 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Sub-Lethal Toxicity of Benzethonium Chloride in Cyprinus carpio Liver
by Stefania Gheorghe, Daniel N. Mitroi, Miruna S. Stan, Cristina A. Staicu, Marius Cicirma, Irina E. Lucaciu, Mihai Nita-Lazar and Anca Dinischiotu
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(23), 8485; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app10238485 - 27 Nov 2020
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2983
Abstract
Benzenthonium chloride (BEC, Hyamine 1622) is a quaternary ammonium surfactant with cationic properties widely used in cleaning, sanitation, and medical products that can become harmful to humans and also to the environment. This study aimed to evaluate its acute effects on Cyprinus carpio [...] Read more.
Benzenthonium chloride (BEC, Hyamine 1622) is a quaternary ammonium surfactant with cationic properties widely used in cleaning, sanitation, and medical products that can become harmful to humans and also to the environment. This study aimed to evaluate its acute effects on Cyprinus carpio fish in terms of oxidative stress and morphological changes on hepatic tissue in order to show the sub-lethal toxicity of BEC. Fish were exposed to 1 mg/L BEC for 24, 48, and 96 h, and the liver samples were collected. The most significant changes were noticed after 96 h of exposure when the entire antioxidant enzyme system was affected. The activities of catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and glutathione S-transferase decreased by 44%, 31%, 30%, and 45%, respectively, compared to control. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity decreased by 29% after 96 h of control, inducing a reduction of NADPH formation which decreased by half the level of reduced glutathione, the main non-enzymatic antioxidant. These effects correlated with the raised value of lipid peroxidation after 96 h and the morphology changes on hepatic tissue, such as cytoplasmic vacuolization and nuclear hypertrophy that could affect the normal function of the liver. All of these results showed acute toxicity of BEC on C. carpio after 96 h of exposure, causing oxidative stress response at the hepatic level. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Effects of Pollutants in the Aquatic Environment)
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19 pages, 2494 KiB  
Article
Impacts on Metabolism and Gill Physiology of Darter Species (Etheostoma spp.) That Are Attributed to Wastewater Effluent in the Grand River
by Rhiannon Hodgson, Leslie Bragg, Hadi A. Dhiyebi, Mark R. Servos and Paul M. Craig
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(23), 8364; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app10238364 - 25 Nov 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2263
Abstract
The effluent from municipal wastewater treatment plants is a major point source of contamination in Canadian waterways. The improvement of effluent quality to reduce contaminants, such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products, before being released into the environment is necessary to reduce the [...] Read more.
The effluent from municipal wastewater treatment plants is a major point source of contamination in Canadian waterways. The improvement of effluent quality to reduce contaminants, such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products, before being released into the environment is necessary to reduce the impacts on organisms that live in the river downstream. Here, we aimed to characterize the metabolic and gill physiological responses of rainbow (Etheostoma caeruleum), fantail (Etheostoma flabellare), and greenside (Etheostoma blennioides) darters to the effluent in the Grand River from the recently upgraded Waterloo municipal wastewater treatment plant. The routine metabolism of darters was not affected by effluent exposure, but some species had increased maximum metabolic rates, leading to an increased aerobic scope. The rainbow darter aerobic scope increased by 2.2 times and the fantail darter aerobic scope increased by 2.7 times compared to the reference site. Gill samples from effluent-exposed rainbow darters and greenside darters showed evidence of more pathologies and variations in morphology. These results suggest that darters can metabolically adjust to effluent-contaminated water and may also be adapting to the urban and agricultural inputs. The modification and damage to the gills provide a useful water quality indicator but does not necessarily reflect how well acclimated the species is to the environment due to a lack of evidence of poor fish health. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Effects of Pollutants in the Aquatic Environment)
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