Microplastics swell toxicity in marine species

Microplastics swell toxicity in marine species

Muscat: Microplastics have emerged as contaminants of concern because of their ubiquitous presence in almost all aquatic environments, a study in Oman revealed.

The study, “Additive effects of microplastics on accumulation and toxicity of cadmium in male zebrafish” won accolades at the National Research Awards, organised by Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation.

The study conducted by a research team led by Maklas Said Al Marshoudi, Lecturer at the University of Technology and Applied Sciences Muscat, is among the winning innovative research projects in the 10th National Research Award, organised by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation.

Elaborating on the research, Marshoudi said microplastics 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 multifactorial studies to elucidate their impacts.

Maklas explained that there was an additive interaction between water-borne cadmium (Cd) and MPs on bioaccumulation in males, but not in females.

Cd accumulation increased by twofold when water-borne Cd and MPs were combined.

Water-borne Cd induced significantly higher levels of metallothionein compared to MPs pre-exposed to Cd. However, Cd-treated MPs caused greater