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Advances in Plastic’s (Eco)Toxicity Research in the Aquatic and Terrestrial Environments

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Quality and Contamination".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 494

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Laboratory of Environmental Toxicology, National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics, Tallinn, Estonia
Interests: water contamination; sedimnet contamination; plastics toxicity; ecotoxicology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Macro-, micro- and nanoplastic pollution is a huge environmental and societal issue worldwide as rights of future generations to clean the environment are currently threatened due to the massive production and disposal of plastic products.

This Special Issue intends to collate basic and innovative research outcomes that can enhance our knowledge on the potential (eco)toxicity of plastic and plastic-based contaminants in terrestrial and aquatic environments. The research will address the short- or long-term effects of conventional or biodegradable macro-, micro- and nanoplastic particles on organisms, including bacteria and in vitro models. Research on the physical transport of plastic and associated contaminants from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems, factors affecting distribution or uptake of plastic particles, interdisciplinary studies involving in vivo tests and omics methods as well as systematic review papers assessing the state of the art and challenges are welcome. Research outcomes derived from combined plastic–other toxicant studies, e.g., plastic algal toxins, plastic–metal–organic complexes and plastic pesticides, are especially welcome. We encourage all types of submissions including original research papers, short communications and technical notes. A final Editorial by the Guest Editor will summarize the contributions to the Special Issue and provide an overview of the state in the field.

Dr. Alla Khosrovyan
Guest Editor

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.

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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

  • fresh water
  • marine water
  • plant
  • animal
  • plastic
  • distribution
  • intake
  • (eco)toxicity
  • ecotoxicogenomics

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 2559 KiB  
Article
Microbead-Mediated Enhancement of Bacterial Toxicity: Oxidative Stress and Apoptosis in Korean Rockfish, Sebastes schlegeli, Following Exposure to Streptococcus iniae
by Young Hoon Kwon, Jin A. Kim, Young-Su Park, Jun-Hwan Kim and Cheol Young Choi
Water 2025, 17(14), 2147; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17142147 - 18 Jul 2025
Viewed by 347
Abstract
Korean rockfish, Sebastes schlegeli, a coastal species, is vulnerable to pollutants such as microplastics and bacteria. While interactions between microplastics and other pollutants have been studied, little is known about microplastic and bacteria interactions. This study examined the effects of combined exposure [...] Read more.
Korean rockfish, Sebastes schlegeli, a coastal species, is vulnerable to pollutants such as microplastics and bacteria. While interactions between microplastics and other pollutants have been studied, little is known about microplastic and bacteria interactions. This study examined the effects of combined exposure to polystyrene microplastics in the form of microbeads (MB; 0.2 µm, 5 and 50 beads/L) and Streptococcus iniae (1 × 105 and 1 × 107 CFU/mL) for five days on oxidative stress and apoptosis in Korean rockfish. We assessed the mRNA expression and activity of oxidative stress markers (SOD, CAT, H2O2, NO, CYP1A1, GST), plasma LPO levels, and caspase-3 expression in liver tissue. Co-exposure to high MB and S. iniae concentrations significantly elevated oxidative stress and apoptosis markers, suggesting enhanced toxicity. This may result from MB facilitating pathogen transport into the fish, indicating microplastics can act as vectors for bacterial infection in aquatic environments. Full article
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