Biochemical responses, growth and reproduction of earthworm in low density polyethylene (LDPE)

Abstract There is an unprecedented production of plastic that is accelerating its disposal while affecting the fitness of the terrestrial as well as the aquatic environment. The term microplastics refers to plastic fragments that are less than 5 mm in size and are widely distributed in the environme...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental quality management 2023-09, Vol.33 (1), p.223-237
Main Authors: Angmo, Deachen, Dutta, Rahil, Singh, Jaswinder, Chowdhary, Anu Bala, Quadar, Jahangeer, Thakur, Babita, Kaur, Hardeep, Sharma, Manik, Singh, Sharanpreet, Vig, Adarsh Pal
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic environment
Body weight
Cocoons
Density
Environmental quality
Enzymatic activity
Enzyme activity
Glutathione
Glutathione reductase
Guaiacol
Low density polyethylenes
Microplastics
Molecular docking
Mortality
Peroxidase
Plastic debris
Plastic pollution
Polyethylene
Reductases
Reproduction
Superoxide dismutase
Worms
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Summary:Abstract There is an unprecedented production of plastic that is accelerating its disposal while affecting the fitness of the terrestrial as well as the aquatic environment. The term microplastics refers to plastic fragments that are less than 5 mm in size and are widely distributed in the environment. Therefore, the present study intends to explore the biological response of earthworms ( Eisenia fetida ) toward different concentrations of low‐density polyethylene. E. fetida treated with low‐density polyethylene concentration (Control), 250 mg kg −1 , 1000 mg kg −1 , 6000 mg kg −1 , 12,000 mg kg −1, and 25,000 mg kg −1 . The above ratios were thoroughly mixed with 1kg of artificial soil and tested for growth, reproduction (cocoons and hatchling count), and enzymatic activities namely superoxide dismutase, guaiacol peroxidase, glutathione‐S‐transferase, and glutathione reductase and molecular docking studies. No mortality was observed during the exposure period at any concentrations. On the 28th day, when compared to the control the highest decrease in body weight of earthworms was observed in 25,000 mg (28.4%) followed by 12,000 mg (12.2%) and 6000 mg (3.4%). The cocoon and hatchlings significantly declined as the dose of microplastics increases. Enzymatic activity such as SOD and POD showed declined trend as the dose increased, while GST and GR increased with an increase in microplastic concentrations on 28th day. Furthermore, molecular docking showed that LDPE can modulate the activity of all four enzymes significantly. HIGHLIGHTS No mortality was recorded throughout the exposure period at any concentrations. LDPE upto 1000 mg kg −1 caused no effect on the earthworm's growth and reproduction rate. Higher concentrations of LDPE effects the both biomass and enzyme activity of the earthworms. The enzymatic activities SOD, POD, GST, and GR were altered in E. fetida in all treatments except at 250 mg kg −1 concentrations.
ISSN:1088-1913
1520-6483
DOI:10.1002/tqem.22041