Cadmium’s alarming effects on Male Zebrafish revealed

Cadmium’s alarming effects on Male Zebrafish revealed

MUSCAT: A study conducted by a research team led by Maklas bin Said al Marshoudi, lecturer, University of Technology and Applied Sciences, (UTAS) Muscat, is among the winning innovative research projects in the 10th National Research Award, organised by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation.The team won the prize in the Environmental and Biological Resources field under the Young Researcher’s category for ‘Additive effects of microplastics on accumulation and toxicity of cadmium in male zebrafish.’The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a freshwater fish belonging to the minnow family (Cyprinidae) of the order Cypriniformes. A popular aquarium fish, they are native to India and South Asia, and is frequently sold under the trade name zebra danio (and thus often called a ‘tropical fish’ although both tropical and subtropical).Elaborating on his project, Maklas al Marshoudi says that microplastics (MPs) have emerged as contaminants of concern because of their ubiquitous presence in almost all aquatic environments. The ecological effects of MPs are complex and depend on multiple factors, including their age, size, and the ecological matrix. There is an urgent need for multi-factorial studies to elucidate their impacts.Maklas explained that there was an additive interaction between water-borne cadmium (Cd) and MPs