Special Issue "Ecotoxicological Effects of Emerging Contaminants on Aquatic Species"

A special issue of Toxics (ISSN 2305-6304). This special issue belongs to the section "Ecotoxicology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 January 2024 | Viewed by 1734

Special Issue Editors

Department of Molecular Biology, Federal University of Paraíba, João Pessoa 58051-900, Brazil
Interests: adverse outcome pathways; alternatives to animal testing; biomarkers; emerging contaminants; oxidative stress; predictive toxicology; zebrafish experimentation
Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal
Interests: toxicology; zebrafish; oxidative stress; biochemistry; behavior; development; mitochondria; ecotoxicology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Instituto de Patologia Tropical e Saúde Pública, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiania, Brazil
Interests: ecotoxicology; aquatic ecotoxicology; biomarkers; emerging pollutants; microplastics; nanoplastics; nanomaterials; fish; gastropods; bivalves; multiple biomarker assessment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sixty years ago, Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, inaugurating a major milestone in environmental activism. Carson reliably and skillfully translated for the general public the scientific findings of that time on the deleterious effects on human and environmental health of synthetic pesticides such as DDT. As a result of commotion and pressure from different environmental protection entities, some chemicals were banned, and regulatory frameworks were created for the release, monitoring, and safety of products used for pest control.

Although Silent Spring’s subject has been around for six decades, it is still very topical due to the growing number of little-known contaminants detected in environmental samples. Advances in synthetic chemistry and materials engineering have provided incredible solutions for areas such as the agriculture, construction, and textile industries and medicine. However, they have also unintentionally introduced substances and materials into the environment, with emphasis on aquatic compartments that are the final destination of all contaminants. This diverse group of contaminants has been described as contaminants of emerging concern or emerging contaminants.

Emerging contaminants are defined as synthetic or naturally occurring chemicals or any microorganisms that are not commonly monitored in the environment but have the potential to enter the environment and cause known or supposed adverse ecological and/or human health effects. They are pharmaceuticals, pesticides, industrial chemicals, surfactants, nanomaterials, micro(nano)plastics, and personal care products that are regularly found in groundwater, surface water, municipal wastewater, drinking water, and food sources.

The threat of emerging contaminants lies in the fact that the environmental and human toxicology of most of these compounds have not yet been studied. In this sense, ecotoxicity testing through exposure of aquatic (vertebrates, invertebrates and unicellular) species to those contaminants has historically been the main approach to obtain exposure-effect data. However, new approach methodologies aligned with Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century vision by US NRC, as well as advances in computational toxicology, high-throughput techniques, in vitro to in vivo extrapolation, and QSAR and AOP models have also been widely used for environmental risk assessment from a plethora of poorly studied contaminants against aquatic organisms.

This Special Issue will focus on the investigation of ecotoxicological effects of emerging contaminants on aquatic species using in silico, in vitro and/or in vivo approaches. The proposal of new methods or tests to investigate the effects of these contaminants on aquatic biota will also be considered in this Special Issue.

Dr. Davi Farias
Dr. Luís Felix
Prof. Dr. Thiago Lopes Rocha
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. Toxics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2600 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

  • adverse outcome pathways
  • aquatic organisms
  • contaminants of emerging concern
  • ecotoxicity testing
  • QSAR
  • personal care products
  • pharmaceuticals
  • nanomaterials
  • pesticides
  • predictive toxicology

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

Article
Network Toxicology and Molecular Docking to Investigate the Non-AChE Mechanisms of Organophosphate-Induced Neurodevelopmental Toxicity
Toxics 2023, 11(8), 710; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11080710 - 17 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 456
Abstract
Organophosphate pesticides (OPs) are toxic substances that contaminate aquatic environments, interfere with the development of the nervous system, and induce Neurodevelopmental Toxicity (NDT) in animals and humans. The canonical mechanism of OP neurotoxicity involves the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), but other mechanisms non-AChE [...] Read more.
Organophosphate pesticides (OPs) are toxic substances that contaminate aquatic environments, interfere with the development of the nervous system, and induce Neurodevelopmental Toxicity (NDT) in animals and humans. The canonical mechanism of OP neurotoxicity involves the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), but other mechanisms non-AChE are also involved and not fully understood. We used network toxicology and molecular docking to identify molecular targets and toxicity mechanisms common to OPs. Targets related to diazinon-oxon, chlorpyrifos oxon, and paraoxon OPs were predicted using the Swiss Target Prediction and PharmMapper databases. Targets related to NDT were compiled from GeneCards and OMIM databases. In order to construct the protein–protein interaction (PPI) network, the common targets between OPs and NDT were imported into the STRING. Network topological analyses identified EGFR, MET, HSP90AA1, and SRC as hub nodes common to the three OPs. Using the Reactome pathway and gene ontology, we found that signal transduction, axon guidance, cellular responses to stress, and glutamatergic signaling activation play key roles in OP-induced NDT. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecotoxicological Effects of Emerging Contaminants on Aquatic Species)
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Article
Present in the Aquatic Environment, Unclear Evidence in Top Predators—The Unknown Effects of Anti-Seizure Medication on Eurasian Otters (Lutra lutra) from Northern Germany
Toxics 2023, 11(4), 338; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11040338 - 31 Mar 2023
Viewed by 850
Abstract
Emerging contaminants are produced globally at high rates and often ultimately find their way into the aquatic environment. These include substances contained in anti-seizure medication (ASM), which are currently appearing in surface waters at increasing concentrations in Germany. Unintentional and sublethal, chronic exposure [...] Read more.
Emerging contaminants are produced globally at high rates and often ultimately find their way into the aquatic environment. These include substances contained in anti-seizure medication (ASM), which are currently appearing in surface waters at increasing concentrations in Germany. Unintentional and sublethal, chronic exposure to pharmaceuticals such as ASMs has unknown consequences for aquatic wildlife. Adverse effects of ASMs on the brain development are documented in mammals. Top predators such as Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra) are susceptible to the bioaccumulation of environmental pollutants. Still little is known about the health status of the otter population in Germany, while the detection of various pollutants in otter tissue samples has highlighted their role as an indicator species. To investigate potential contamination with pharmaceuticals, Eurasian otter brain samples were screened for selected ASMs via high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Via histology, brain sections were analyzed for the presence of potential associated neuropathological changes. In addition to 20 wild otters that were found dead, a control group of 5 deceased otters in human care was studied. Even though none of the targeted ASMs were detected in the otters, unidentified substances in many otter brains were measured. No obvious pathology was observed histologically, although the sample quality limited the investigations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecotoxicological Effects of Emerging Contaminants on Aquatic Species)
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