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Results for “Fish ecotoxicology”

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PubMed2025

The biological relevance of potentially toxic metals in freshwater fish.

Trace elements are essential for a number of physiological functions including oxygen transfer, enzymatic reactions and antioxidant protection of the animal organism. Elevated concentrations outside the physiological optimum, on the other hand, can cause undesirable health complications, disrupt metabolic pathways, reproductive capacity, or oxidative balance. The negative anthropogenic impacts on the environment are alarming and the impacts on the aquatic environment have been increasing disproportionately in recent years. Against this background, all potential threats to biota need to be explained and better understood, the possible risks need to be better informed and understood, and a balance needs to be struck between the fundamental nature and the harmful effects of these metals. This mini-review examines the roles of potentially toxic metals including cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), molybdenum (Mo) and zinc (Zn) in fish physiology. This document also elucidates the mechanisms underlying the assessment of regulatory processes, the potential negative consequences of overexposure, the interactions of these metals on fish health, and in the environmental context.

biomarker↗
PubMed2026

From molecular responses to environmental monitoring: advances and translational gaps in omics approaches in fish environmental toxicology.

Fish occupy a central position in aquatic ecosystems and serve as important bioindicators for environmental monitoring, as well as powerful translational models for understanding toxic mechanisms conserved across higher vertebrates. In recent years, omics techniques have proven to be powerful tools to address complex environmental questions that conventional toxicology methods cannot answer. Despite this potential, a critical translational gap remains between molecular findings and their use in ecological risk assessment frameworks. This review critically synthesizes advances across omics techniques including epigenomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics and proteomics and their integration. Special emphasis is placed on methodological considerations and practical aspects of these techniques in fish environmental toxicology and environmental monitoring. Evidence from single-omics studies suggests conserved biomarker signatures across species while characterizing complex phenomena like non-monotonic dose-response relationships, mixture toxicity and transgenerational and stereoselective effects with implications for population level monitoring. Multi-omics studies, especially those involving triple omics, further enhance mechanistic resolution by reconstructing adverse outcome pathways. We further evaluate using case studies when additional molecular layers provide critical insight and when they offer limited advantage, a strategic distinction with direct implications in environmental monitoring programmes. Finally, current limitations and future directions that will ultimately bridge the translational gap and hold promise for advancing mechanistic ecotoxicology and predictive environmental monitoring are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed2026

Metabolic depot for nucleated erythrocyte degradation: molecular and structural elucidation of the teleost melanomacrophage center.

The function of melanomacrophage centers (MMCs) has long been controversial. While their foundational function is widely accepted as "metabolic dumps" for waste processing, a widely circulated hypothesis posits that they are primitive germinal centers (GCs) executing adaptive immunity. To elucidate this controversy, this study systematically evaluated the splenic MMCs in a higher teleost ( Micropterus salmoides) by combining transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution spatial transcriptomics. Structurally, TEM revealed that the MMC comprises a core with characteristic sparse cellular density, filled with cellular debris and encapsulated by a fibrous layer. Molecularly, under physiological conditions, MMC regions exhibited low transcriptional activity. We did not detect clear enrichment of B cell and T cell lineage genes, and the key GC marker aicda was not observed. Conversely, its predominant molecular signature was characterized by macrophage-driven iron metabolism (e.g., ferritin) and erythrocyte degradation (e.g., hba1). Furthermore, the physicochemical properties of MMCs pigments (e.g., argyrophilia) suggest that traditional histological staining methods warrant cautious interpretation regarding potential non-specific signals. In conclusion, our findings characterize the MMC as a highly specialized metabolic processing and sequestration niche. This study provides new perspectives on the evolution of immune-metabolic homeostasis in poikilothermic vertebrates, advances comparative immunology, and offers a critical scientific reference for the accurate interpretation of MMCs as a biological indicator in pathology and ecotoxicology.

Animals↗
PubMed2024

A research synthesis of humans, animals, and environmental compartments exposed to PFAS: A systematic evidence map and bibliometric analysis of secondary literature.

BACKGROUND: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of widely used anthropogenic chemicals. Concerns regarding their persistence and potential adverse effects have led to multiple secondary research publications. Here, we aim to assess the resulting evidence base in the systematic secondary literature by examining research gaps, evaluating the quality of reviews, and exploring interdisciplinary connections. METHODS: This study employed a systematic evidence-mapping approach to assess the secondary literature on the biological, environmental, and medical aspects of exposure to 35 fluorinated compounds. The inclusion criteria encompassed systematic reviews published in peer-reviewed journals, pre-prints, and theses. Comprehensive searches across electronic databases and grey literature identified relevant reviews. Data extraction and synthesis involved mapping literature content and narrative descriptions. We employed a modified version of the AMSTAR2 checklist to evaluate the methodological rigour of the reviews. A bibliometric data analysis uncovered patterns and trends in the academic literature. A research protocol for this study was previously pre-registered (osf.io/2tpn8) and published (Vendl et al., Environment International 158 (2022) 106973). The database is freely accessible through the interactive and user-friendly web application of this systematic evidence map at https://hi-this-is-lorenzo.shinyapps.io/PFAS_SEM_Shiny_App/. RESULTS: Our map includes a total of 175 systematic reviews. Over the years, there has been a steady increase in the annual number of publications, with a notable surge in 2021. Most reviews focused on human exposure, whereas environmental and animal-related reviews were fewer and often lacked a rigorous systematic approach to literature search and screening. Review outcomes were predominantly associated with human health, particularly with reproductive and children's developmental health. Animal reviews primarily focused on studies conducted in controlled laboratory settings, and wildlife reviews were characterised by an over-representation of birds and fish species. Recent reviews increasingly incorporated quantitative synthesis methodologies. The methodological strengths of the reviews included detailed descriptions of study selection processes and disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. However, weaknesses were observed in the critical lack of detail in reporting methods. A bibliometric analysis revealed that the most productive authors collaborate within their own country, leading to limited and clustered international collaborations. CONCLUSIONS: In this overview of the available systematic secondary literature, we map literature content, assess reviews' methodological quality, highlight data gaps, and draw research network clusters. We aim to facilitate literature reviews, guide future research initiatives, and enhance opportunities for cross-country collaboration. Furthermore, we discuss how this systematic evidence map and its publicly available database benefit scientists, regulatory agencies, and other stakeholders by providing access to current systematic secondary literature on PFAS exposure.

Bibliometrics↗