Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate effects on the growth, development, and reproduction of Moina macrocopa (Crustacea: Cladocera).

Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is used as a plasticizer in plastics. The effects of DEHP on terrestrial vertebrates have been extensively reported but the effects of DEHP contamination on aquatic ecosystems have not been thoroughly studied. Since water bodies are one of the main mediums through which DEHP is released worldwide, the impacts of DEHP contamination should be manifested in water fleas. Therefore, maternal Moina macrocopa were exposed to 1, 10, 100, and 1000 μg/L concentrations of DEHP. Changes in growth and reproduction were evaluated. The findings demonstrated that DEHP exposure did not have a negative impact on growth or the ability to reproduce. An analysis of the ovary yolk body (YB) demonstrated that the average size and number of yolk bodies (YBs) produced by M. macrocopa exposed to 1000 μg/L DEHP were not significantly different to the average size and number of YBs produced in blank control and solvent control conditions. These outcomes support the cellular pathology data gathered by other researchers. Nevertheless, when M. macrocopa was exposed to 1000 μg/L DEHP for five days, a significant increase in YB numbers was observed with changes in YB morphology. The critical cellular pathology of YB showed morphological abnormalities, including rod-shaped YBs, and YB density was higher than in the blank and solvent controls. Even though these results suggest that antioxidative stress can be induced by DEHP exposure, growth, and reproduction were not significantly different among exposed water fleas compared to fleas in the blank and solvent controls. The result was attributed to the antioxidant response of the water flea. In conclusion, the present study enhances our understanding of previous findings from risk assessments of DEHP contamination in aquatic ecosystems.
Competing Interests: The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Amornrat Chaikritsadakarn (Ph.D. student) reports financial support was provided by the Research Program of Municipal Solid Waste and Hazardous Waste Management under the grant of Center of Excellence on Hazardous Substance Management (HSM), Bangkok, Thailand with grant number HSM-PJ-CT-17-02. Asst. Prof. Dr. Chutchawan Muenpo reports equipment, drugs, or supplies and writing assistance were provided by Prince of Songkla University, Thailand. Asst. Prof. Dr. Dudsadee Muenhor reports administrative support, article publishing charges, and statistical analysis were provided by Prince of Songkla University, Thailand. Associate Prof. Dr. Banchong Witthayawirasak reports administrative support, equipment, drugs, or supplies, and statistical analysis were provided by Prince of Songkla University, Thailand. Professor Ronald D. DeLaune reports writing assistance was provided by Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA. Asst. Prof. Chutchawan Muenpo reports a relationship with Prince of Songkla University, Thailand that includes: employment. Dr. Chutchawan Muenpo has patent No patent issued to No patent. 1. The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. 2. We do not have patent in this experiment.
(© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)