From Low-Tier to Individual Effects of Emerging Pollutants: Integrative Approaches to Ecotoxicological Assessments—2nd Edition

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 March 2025) | Viewed by 213

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
MARE—Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Polytechnic of Leiria, Leiria, Portugal
Interests: environmental toxicology; exposure assessments; omics technologies (tran-scriptomics, proteomics, lipidomics); biomarkers; mechanisms of toxicity; adverse outcome pathways
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Guest Editor
Centro de Biotecnologia dos Açores, Universidade dos Açores, Rua da Mãe de Deus, 9500-321 Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Interests: omics technologies; biomarkers; biotechnology
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Guest Editor
School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AT, Wales, UK
Interests: ecotoxicogenomics; adverse outcome pathways; soil and aquatic biodiver-sity; ecosystems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The prevailing paradigm of toxicological assessments, which predominantly emphasize apical endpoints such as survival, is increasingly recognized as inadequate and in need of modernization. The initial responses to anthropogenic stressors are often manifested at the sub-cellular level, where they can precipitate significant impacts on an organism's fitness and broader ecosystem health. By employing an integrated approach that spans across various biological scales, the incorporation of sub-cellular endpoints can enhance the realism and significance of pollutant impact assessments. Such assessments may yield highly specific and integrative biomarkers, serving as rapid and sensitive indicators for the early detection of chemical effects and the elucidation of their toxicological mechanisms. These biomarkers can also be instrumental in the formulation of adverse outcome pathways (AOPs).

This Special Issue is dedicated to the exploration of comprehensive ecotoxicological evaluations, with an emphasis on the effects of emerging pollutants on non-target organisms. We invite submissions encompassing original research, case studies, and comprehensive reviews that integrate individual-level endpoints—such as survival, growth, and behavior—with biochemical (e.g., oxidative stress and cellular damage) and molecular (e.g., gene expression and protein levels) assessments.

We look forward to receiving your contributions to the second edition of this important discourse.

Dr. Tiago Simoes
Dr. Hugo Monteiro
Dr. Nuno Ferreira
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • biomarkers
  • ecotoxicology
  • emerging pollutants
  • biological effects
  • mode of action
  • integrative analysis
  • analytical methods
  • sub-lethal endpoints

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 813 KiB  
Article
Assessment of Potential Toxic Effects of Fungicide Fludioxonil on Human Cells and Aquatic Microorganisms
by Maria Antonopoulou, Anna Tzamaria, Sotiris Papas, Ioanna Efthimiou and Dimitris Vlastos
Toxics 2025, 13(5), 358; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13050358 - 30 Apr 2025
Abstract
Fludioxonil is a widely used fungicide that is frequently used to combat fungal plant diseases. Consequently, excessive concentrations of fludioxonil may enter and accumulate over time in aquatic systems, harming (micro) organisms in several ways. Thus, it is of great importance to evaluate [...] Read more.
Fludioxonil is a widely used fungicide that is frequently used to combat fungal plant diseases. Consequently, excessive concentrations of fludioxonil may enter and accumulate over time in aquatic systems, harming (micro) organisms in several ways. Thus, it is of great importance to evaluate the potential toxic effects of fludioxonil using bioassays. In the present study, various in vitro assays were used to assess the possible effects of fludioxonil in human cells and aquatic microorganisms. For the investigation of the toxic effects of fludioxonil on freshwater microalgae, Scenedesmus rubescens and Dunaliella tertiolecta were exposed to various environmentally relevant concentrations of the fungicide for a period of 96 h. Fludioxonil at 50–200 μg L−1 significantly limited the growth of both microalgae, especially in the first 24 h of the exposure, where inhibitions up to 82.34% were calculated. The toxicity of fludioxonil was further evaluated via the Microtox test, and the studied fungicide was found to be less toxic for the bacteria Aliivibrio fischeri. Regarding human cells, the fludioxonil’s toxic and cyto-genotoxic effects were assessed using the Trypan blue exclusion test and the Cytokinesis Block MicroNucleus (CBMN) assay. Cell viability in all fludioxonil-treated concentrations was similar to control values according to the results of the Trypan blue exclusion test. However, the CBMN assay was used and revealed that fludioxonil had genotoxic potential in higher concentrations and exerted cytotoxic activity against human lymphocytes. Specifically, only the highest dose of fludioxonil, i.e., 10 μg mL−1, exerted genotoxic effects against human lymphocytes, whereas treatment with 0.5, 1, and 5 μg mL−1 did not lead to statistically significant induction of micronuclei (MN) frequencies compared with the control culture. However, fludioxonil-mediated cytotoxicity was statistically significant, which was demonstrated by the decreased CBPI (cytokinesis block proliferation index) values in all cases except for the lowest dose, i.e., 0.5 μg mL−1. Full article
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