Emerging Pollutants in Aquatic Ecosystems: Effects on Biodiversity and Solutions

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Freshwater Biodiversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2023) | Viewed by 7249

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China
Interests: biodiversity; macrobenthos; aquatic ecology; environmental toxicology of emerging pollutants; nanotoxicology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China
Interests: persistent organic pollutants (POPs); aquatic organisms: algal research; nanomaterials; advanced oxidation process (AOP); photocatalytic degradation
Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 519000, China
Interests: water environment monitoring; contaminant hydrology; computational fluid dy-namics; deep learning; environmental impact
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
College of Ecology and Environment, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
Interests: environmental behavior of pollutants in tropical coastal waters; marine environmental toxicology of emerging pollutants; non-targeted screening of emerging organic pollutants in hot areas
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Fishery Machinery and Instrument Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Shanghai 200092, China
Interests: aquatic toxicology; genetic breeding; nutriology; aquatic ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Pollutants in the environment may have negative effects on aquatic organisms and subsequently pose a looming threat to aquatic biodiversity. The focus of research is shifting from traditional to emerging pollutants. Emerging pollutants include micro- and nano-plastics, personal care products, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, persistent organic pollutants, nanomaterials, currently used pesticides, and pharmaceuticals, as well as their degradation or metabolite products. Their presence in the environment is not necessarily new, but the majority of them were previously unknown or not recognized as remarkable risks for biodiversity. Thus, it is critical to investigate their biological impact on aquatic organisms.

Recently, emerging pollutants in aquatic environments have received increased attention. In view of that, the editors of this Special Issue encourage researchers to obtain interesting results on this topic and to submit high-quality manuscripts, including review papers, regular research articles, interesting images, and communications in the fields of organismic and molecular diversity.

Papers on all relevant topics are welcome, including but not limited to, the following:

  • Environmental risks associated with emerging pollutants;
  • Associations between emerging pollutants and biodiversity;
  • Novel approaches in mitigating emerging pollutant toxicity in aquatic organisms;
  • Emerging pollutant bioavailability in aquatic organisms;
  • Source and sink characteristics of emerging pollutants and their transport and diffusion processes in the environment.

Dr. Zhiquan Liu
Prof. Dr. Jiafeng Ding
Dr. Hang Wan
Dr. Kaibo Huang
Dr. Yiming Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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. Diversity 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

  • emerging pollutant
  • aquatic organism
  • toxicology
  • transport and diffusion

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 3346 KiB  
Article
The Impacts of Phosphorus-Containing Compounds on Soil Microorganisms of Rice Rhizosphere Contaminated by Lead
by Xingchen Pan, Wenjun Shi, Guiping Feng, Xiaolong Li, Qingwei Zhou, Li Fu, Meiqing Jin and Weihong Wu
Diversity 2023, 15(1), 69; https://doi.org/10.3390/d15010069 - 05 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1144
Abstract
The cost effectiveness of using exogenous phosphorus to remediate heavy metals in soil, which would alter the structure of the soil microbial community, had been widely acknowledged. In the present study, phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) technology was taken as the breakthrough point, and [...] Read more.
The cost effectiveness of using exogenous phosphorus to remediate heavy metals in soil, which would alter the structure of the soil microbial community, had been widely acknowledged. In the present study, phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) technology was taken as the breakthrough point, and rhizosphere soil microorganisms in different growth stages (jointing stage and maturity stage) of Minghui 86 (MH) and Yangdao No.6 (YD) rice were taken as the research objects. As revealed by the results, the rhizosphere soil microorganisms of MH and YD had distinct sensitivities to exogenous phosphorus and had a certain inhibitory effect on MH and YD enhancement. The sensitivity of rice root soil microorganisms to exogenous phosphorus also varied in different growth stages of rice. Bacteria were the dominant microorganism in the soil microbial community of rice roots, and the gain of exogenous phosphorus had a certain impact on the structure of the two soil microbial communities. Through analysis of the microbial community characteristics of MH rice and YD soil after adding exogenous phosphorus, further understanding was attained with respect to the effect of exogenous phosphorus on the microbial community characteristics of rice rhizosphere soil and the impact thereof on ecological functions. Full article
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9 pages, 1956 KiB  
Article
Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals the Hepatotoxicity of Perfluorooctanoic Acid in Black-Spotted Frogs (Rana nigromaculata)
by Huikang Lin, Yixuan Feng, Yueyue Zheng, Yu Han, Xia Yuan, Panpan Gao, Hangjun Zhang, Yuchi Zhong and Zhiquan Liu
Diversity 2022, 14(11), 971; https://doi.org/10.3390/d14110971 - 11 Nov 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1360
Abstract
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is frequently detected in the environment and accumulates in amphibians such as black-spotted frogs (Rana nigromaculata) with toxic effects; however, the mechanism underlying this toxicity is unclear. In this study, male black-spotted frogs were exposed to 10 μg/L [...] Read more.
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is frequently detected in the environment and accumulates in amphibians such as black-spotted frogs (Rana nigromaculata) with toxic effects; however, the mechanism underlying this toxicity is unclear. In this study, male black-spotted frogs were exposed to 10 μg/L waterborne PFOA for 21 days. Subsequently, the effect of PFOA exposure on gene expression in liver tissue was investigated using transcriptomic techniques. In total, 754 differentially expressed genes (DEGs; 389 up-regulated and 365 down-regulated) were identified. According to Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment and Gene Ontology functional enrichment analyses, the DEGs were mainly involved in lipid metabolism, endocrine functions, and immunity. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis of 15 selected DEGs revealed a high correlation (R2 = 0.9917) with the transcriptomic results. These results indicated that the PFOA hepatotoxicity in frogs is mediated mainly by lipid metabolism dysregulation, endocrine system disruption, and immunotoxicity. This study provides insights into the hepatotoxic mechanism of PFOA and other perfluorinated compounds in amphibians. Full article
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11 pages, 6522 KiB  
Article
Molecular Characterisation of Wnt4 and Wnt16 in the Water Flea (Daphnia pulex) and Their Expression Regulation by Polystyrene Nanoplastics
by Changan Ma, Di Zuo and Zhiquan Liu
Diversity 2022, 14(11), 962; https://doi.org/10.3390/d14110962 - 10 Nov 2022
Viewed by 1124
Abstract
The Wnt gene family is of ancient origin and is involved in various biological processes. In this study, Wnt4 and Wnt16 were cloned from Daphnia pulex, named DpWnt4 and DpWnt16, respectively. In DpWnt4 cDNA, full-length 1684 bp, the open reading frame was 1122 [...] Read more.
The Wnt gene family is of ancient origin and is involved in various biological processes. In this study, Wnt4 and Wnt16 were cloned from Daphnia pulex, named DpWnt4 and DpWnt16, respectively. In DpWnt4 cDNA, full-length 1684 bp, the open reading frame was 1122 bp and it encodes a 373 amino acid polypeptide. In DpWnt16 cDNA, full-length 1941 bp, the open reading frame was 1293 bp and it encodes a 430 amino acid polypeptide. The sequence analysis result showed that both DpWnt4 and DpWnt16 sequences contain a Wnt1 domain. Multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis revealed that DpWnt4 and DpWnt16 were most closely related to arthropods. The expression of DpWnt4 decreased at 0.5 mg/L group and was induced at 2 mg/L, while DpWnt16 was only induced at 2 mg/L nanoplastics group. These results help us understand more about the character of Wnt4 and Wnt16 in crustaceans and how Wnt genes respond to pollutants, especially nanoplastics. Full article
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13 pages, 1846 KiB  
Article
Reducing Carbon Input Improved the Diversity of Bacterial Community in Large-Scale Biofloc Shrimp Culture Facilities
by Lin Zhu, Xuan Che, Xingguo Liu, Huang Liu, Yiming Li, Jie Wang, Guofeng Cheng, Jun Chen, Rong Tang, Xiaolong Chen and Xin Chen
Diversity 2022, 14(10), 778; https://doi.org/10.3390/d14100778 - 20 Sep 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1681
Abstract
In this study, a group of large-scale biofloc shrimp culturing facilities were designed. The bioflocs were domesticated by continuously reducing the ratio of carbon to feed. The bacterial community diversity on the 20th, 40th, 60th, and 80th days was analyzed by high-throughput sequencing [...] Read more.
In this study, a group of large-scale biofloc shrimp culturing facilities were designed. The bioflocs were domesticated by continuously reducing the ratio of carbon to feed. The bacterial community diversity on the 20th, 40th, 60th, and 80th days was analyzed by high-throughput sequencing technology. The results showed that the biofloc content (0~16.8 ± 4.3) mL/L, TSS concentration (0~247.46 ± 27.3) mL/L, total ammonia nitrogen concentration (0~0.28 ± 0.052) mg/L, nitrite nitrogen concentration (0~4.13 ± 1.42) mg/L, nitrate nitrogen concentration (108.57 ± 19.6) mg/L were all within the safe concentration range of Litopenaeus vannamei. With the progress of reducing carbon input, the Chao1 index, the number of operational taxonomic units, and the Shannon index increased significantly. The number of OTUs of B80 (572.36 ± 13.26) was significantly higher than that of B60 (489.69 ± 12.97), B40 (423.35 ± 18.46) and B20 (407.67 ± 15.65) (p < 0.05). The Chao1 index of B80 (768.58 ± 36.96) was significantly higher than that of B60 (646.8 ± 52.53), B40 (569.7 ± 46.53) and B20 (516.3 ± 21.35) (p < 0.05). The Shannon index of B80 (5.63 ± 0.16) was higher than that of B60 (4.85 ± 0.13), B40 (4.68 ± 0.21) and B20 (3.65 ± 0.22), with significant difference (p < 0.05). At the end of the experiment, the domestication formed a micro-ecosystem with Proteobacteria as the carrier (46.98 ± 15.82%), Chloroflexi as the skeleton (2.2 ± 0.36%), Nitrospirae (1.35 ± 0.26%) as the main water treatment functional bacteria, and other bacteria as auxiliary nitrogen and phosphorus removal; At the genus level, unclassified_f_Rhodobacteracea (22.97 ± 3.82%), Ruegeria (10.35 ± 1.26%), Muricauda (5.73 ± 0.61%), Algoriphagus (3.75% ± 0.85%) and Nitrospira (1.56 ± 0.56%) are the dominant bacteria. Under the synergistic effect of the above bacteria, the biofloc system remains relatively stable. The survival rate and unit yield of shrimp were (65.32 ± 6.85)% and (4.15 ± 1.58) kg/m3, respectively. Full article
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12 pages, 3036 KiB  
Article
Protective Effects of Theaflavins and Epigallocatechin Gallate against ZnO-NP-Induced Cell Apoptosis In Vitro
by Xiaodong Shan, Feifei Chen, Huikang Lin, Hangjun Zhang, Yuchi Zhong, Zhiquan Liu and Yan Li
Diversity 2022, 14(9), 756; https://doi.org/10.3390/d14090756 - 14 Sep 2022
Viewed by 1237
Abstract
Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) are commonly used in various commercial applications, causing toxic effects on organisms and destroying biodiversity, but information about their protective approaches remains unknown. This study aims to evaluate the protective effects of theaflavins (TFs) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) against [...] Read more.
Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) are commonly used in various commercial applications, causing toxic effects on organisms and destroying biodiversity, but information about their protective approaches remains unknown. This study aims to evaluate the protective effects of theaflavins (TFs) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) against ZnO-NP-induced cytotoxicity in rat tracheal epithelial (RTE) cells. Herein, RTE cells were exposed to 100 μg/L ZnO-NPs for 12 h, then treated with 0, 10, 100, and 1000 μg/L TFs or EGCG for another 12 h; subsequently, oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis analyses were conducted. Relative to the control groups, TFs and EGCG treatment significantly inhibited the levels of reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde content. Exposure to 1000 μg/L TFs or EGCG treatment downregulated cytochrome C gene expression levels by 59.10% and 77.27%; Caspase 3 gene expression by 50.03% and 60.01%; Caspase 8 gene expression by 45.11% and 55.57%; and Caspase 9 gene expression by 51.33% and 66.67%, respectively. Meanwhile, interleukin 1β and interleukin 6, tumor necrosis factor-α, and the other inflammatory chemokines such as C-C motif chemokine 2 and C-X-C motif chemokine 8 expression were all gradually rescued after the addition of TFs or EGCG. These results imply that TFs or EGCG possibly ameliorated ZnO-NPs-induced toxicity through antiapoptotic, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects. This study provides novel approaches which mitigate the emerging nanoparticle pollutant toxicity in organisms, which may potentially slow down the destruction of biodiversity. Full article
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