Aquatic contamination by antibiotics: effects on the homeostasis of Poecilia reticulata gills

• Grant number: 24/07550-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2024
• End date: July 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Histology
• Principal Investigator: Renata de Britto Mari
• Grantee: Manuela Agulló Tagliamento
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB-CLP). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus Experimental do Litoral Paulista. São Vicente , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The gills are essential organs in the functioning of aquatic organisms, playing a fundamental role in various functions such as gas exchange, osmoregulation, ionic balance, and excretion. As they are in direct contact with the external environment, they are susceptible to changes in the environment, such as the presence of contaminants, which makes them excellent biomarkers of environmental quality, as they greatly reflect the acute and chronic effects caused by contamination. Among the various contaminants found in aquatic environments, azithromycin, an anti-inflammatory antibiotic with immunomodulatory activity, has been used and disposed of exponentially since the Covid-19 pandemic, making it an environmental problem mainly due to the lack of information on its effects on aquatic organisms and, consequently, the lack of specific regulations. However, they are not the only ones affected since humans can also end up being harmed by the biomagnification process. The aim is therefore to understand the histopathological and morphometric changes caused by exposure to different concentrations of azithromycin so that it is possible to understand its impacts on a smaller and larger scale and, in the future, to provide a basis for and assist in new measures to protect organisms.