Transcriptome-Guided Characterization of the Environmental Toxicity of Metformin: Disruption of Energy Homeostasis and Inhibition of Embryonic Development of Zebrafish at Environmentally Relevant Concentrations.

Metformin has been widely detected in aquatic ecosystems, yet the knowledge of its impact on aquatic organisms, particularly at environmentally relevant concentrations, remains limited. In the present study, we characterized the developmental toxicity of metformin in zebrafish, utilizing a transcriptome-guided toxicological assessment framework. Transcriptomic analysis conducted at metformin concentrations within the µg/L range revealed significant disruptions in biological processes associated with nucleotide, hydrocarbon, and amino acid metabolism, suggesting a significant disturbance in energy homeostasis. This observation was corroborated by energy-targeted metabolomic analysis, wherein a considerable number of metabolites involved in purine metabolism, pyrimidine metabolism, and the citrate cycle displayed significant alterations. Notably, most intermediates in the citrate cycle such as acetyl-CoA exhibited remarkable decreases. Additionally, our study identified significant impediments in zebrafish embryonic development, including decreased yolk extension progress, spontaneous contraction and body length, and increased yolk sac area and yolk/while body lipid content ratio, at metformin concentrations as low as 0.12 µg/L. Furthermore, the disruption of energy homeostasis by metformin was observed to persist into adulthood even after a prolonged recovery period. The present findings highlighted the disruptive effects of metformin on energy homeostasis and embryonic development in teleost at environmentally relevant concentrations, thereby prompting a reevaluation of its environmental risk to nontarget aquatic organisms.

Prioritization of risks posed by synthetic chemicals manufactured in China toward humans and the environment via persistence, bioaccumulation, mobility and toxicity properties.

Over a third of the global chemical production and sales occurred in China, which make effective assessment and management for chemicals produced by China's chemical industry essential not just for China but for the world. Here, we systematical assessed the persistence (P), bioaccumulation (B), mobility (M) and toxicity (T) potency properties for the chemicals listed in Inventory of Existing Chemical Substances of China (IECSC) via experimental data retrieved from large scale databases and in silico data generated with well-established models. Potential PBT, PMT and PB&MT substances were identified. High risk potentials were highlighted for groups of synthetic intermediates, raw materials, as well as a series of biocides. The potential PBT and PMT synthetic intermediates and/or raw materials unique to the IECSC were dominated with organofluorines, for example, the intermediates used as electronic light-emitting materials. Meanwhile, the biocides unique to the IECSC were mainly organochlorines. Some conventional classes of insecticides, such as organochlorines and pyrethroids, were classified as being of high concern. We further identified a group of PB&MT substances that were considered to be both "bioaccumulative" and "mobile". Their properties and common substructures for several major clusters were characterized. The present results prioritized groups of substances with high potentials to cause adverse effects to the environment and humans, many of which have not yet been fully recognized.

Tillage activates iron to prevent soil organic carbon loss following forest conversion to cornfields in tropical acidic red soils.

Previous studies have shown that deforestation and planting of corn resulted in the loss of soil organic carbon (SOC). However, this is not inevitable in regions with acidic red soil. We selected six cornfields that have been planted for 34 years and adjacent forest plots in southwest China. Using a structural equation model, we identified the SOC contents and 42 soil environmental factors in 11 soil layers that are conducive to SOC storage, and evaluated their relative weights hierarchically (0-40, 40-100, and 100-140 cm). Our results surprisingly indicated that after forest had been converted into cornfield, the SOC density did not change in any layer. In acidic red soil, reactive iron (Feo), soil water content, nitrogen, and pH were the main soil environmental factors that affected the storage of SOC. In the 0-40 cm soil layer, compared to forests, the contribution of Feo in cornfields increased significantly (by 11.65%), due to farming promoting the activation of iron, while the contribution of nitrogen decreased significantly (by 9.65%). In the 100-140 cm soil layer, the contribution of soil environmental factors was similar to that in the forest system, but the pH in cornfields increasing significantly (by 21.5%) may result from the leaching of hydrogen ions. Although the cultivation of cornfields caused a loss of nitrogen in the 0-40 cm soil layer, the increase in Feo promoted combination of iron and soil organic carbon, avoiding the soil layer from SOC loss.

Comparison of La3+ and mixed rare earths-loaded magnetic chitosan beads for fluoride adsorption.

La3+ and mixed-rare earth magnetic chitosan beads (MCLB and MCLRB) were successfully prepared for fluoride removal, respectively. The adsorbents were characterized by scanning electron microscope and magnetic response. Batch experiments were carried out to investigate the adsorbent performance based on the influence of various factors such as adsorbent dosage, contact time, initial solution pH and co-existing anions on the fluoride adsorption. Results showed that MCLB and MCLRB followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model with the correlation coefficient value of 0.9925 and 0.9985 respectively. The adsorption process was mainly chemical adsorption. The isotherm data was well fitted both Langmuir model and Freundlich model. The adsorption capacity of the adsorbents were 20.53 and 22.35mg/g respectively. The optimum pH value for fluoride ion removal was 5.0. The effects of co-existing anions on the fluoride sorption followed the decreasing order of CO32->HCO3->SO42->NO3->Cl-. Fluoride adsorption on MCLB and MCLRB could be attributed to ion exchange between fluoride and OH groups with the FeO coordinate bond promotion. Our study revealed that MCLB and MCLRB performed strong adsorption capacity for fluoride ion. In particularly, MCLRB could be a more cost-effective adsorbent to remove fluoride from aqueous solution.