Jeanette M Rotchell

University of Hull · Department of Biological and Marine Sciences

Background: Microplastics (MPs) have contaminated all compartments of the marine environment including biota such as seafood; ingestion from such sources is one of the two major uptake routes identified for human exposure. Objectives: The objectives were to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the levels of MP contamination in seafoo...

Knowledge regarding the presence of suspended microplastics (MPs) within the air is lacking, especially indoors, yet the importance of indoor air quality and human health is rising. This study is the first to report MPs within multiple homes over a 6-month period, with concentrations exceeding previous outdoor studies. Twenty households, within the...

Humans are exposed to microplastics (MPs) daily via ingestion and inhalation. It is not known whether this results in adverse health effects and, if so, at what levels of exposure. Without epidemiological studies, human cell in vitro MP toxicological studies provide an alternative approach to this question. This review systematically synthesised al...

Atmospheric microplastics (MPs) have been consistently captured within air samples on a global scale. Locations with high human activity are reported to have high MP levels. An urban sampling site in the Humber region (U.K.) has been sampled over a 13-month period, providing a seasonal variation profile of MP levels, size, shape, and polymer types...

Airborne microplastics (MPs) have been sampled globally, and their concentration is known to increase in areas of high human population and activity, especially indoors. Respiratory symptoms and disease following exposure to occupational levels of MPs within industry settings have also been reported. It remains to be seen whether MPs from the envir...

Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous in the environment, in the human food chain, and have been recently detected in blood and lung tissues. To undertake a pilot analysis of MP contamination in human vein tissue samples with respect to their presence (if any), levels, and characteristics of any particles identified. This study analysed digested human...

Extended chemical analyses of fluvial sediments was undertaken to establish the key pollutant pressures and mixtures present across nine European Union inland waterways. A wide range of chemical components and physical parameters were investigated including substances from the EU Priority List and Watch List. The data set was examined for key indic...

Atmospheric microplastics (MPs) are a ubiquitous environmental contaminant of emerging concern. Sampling methods provide information relating to surface area concentration and MP characteristics, without direct comparison with routinely measured standard air quality parameters. This study analysed 6 active air samples generated by a local authority...

Plastic pollution and changes in oceanic pH are both pressing environmental issues. Little emphasis, however, has been placed on the influence of sex and gametogenesis stage when investigating the effects of such stressors. Here, we examined histology and molecular biomarkers of blue mussels Mytilus edulis exposed for 7 days to a pH 7.7 scenario (−...

Atmospheric microplastics (MPs) have been consistently detected within indoor and outdoor air samples. Locations with high human activity are reported to have high MP levels. The aim was to quantify and characterise the MPs present within the surgical environment over a one-week sampling period. MPs were collected in samplers placed around an opera...

Study question Does the endocrine disruptor, triclosan, affect the function of cumulus-oocyte-complexes (COCs), and if so, do these effects persist in early embryo developmental competence and metabolism? Summary answer Triclosan caused COCs to i) increase progesterone secretion, ii) switch from releasing to consuming pyruvate, and iii) produce fe...

This preliminary survey analysed mussel atresia incidences, estrogen-responsive and apoptotic-specific molecular end points, and aqueous and gonadal levels of selected estrogens from the East China coast. Estrogen levels were low (e.g. < LOD-28.36 ng/L, < LOD-3.88 ng/g wet weight of tissue for BPA) relative to worldwide freshwater environments, but...

Contamination of waterways is of increasing concern, with recent studies demonstrating elevated levels of antibiotics, antidepressants, household, agricultural and industrial chemicals in freshwater systems. Thus, there is a growing demand for methods to rapidly and conveniently monitor contaminants in waterways. Here we demonstrate how a combinati...

Lycopodium clavatum sporopollenin exine capsules (SpECs) are known to both adsorb and absorb chemicals. The aim of the present work was to determine whether oestradiol (E2) is ‘bioavailable’ to bioindicator species, either pre-adsorbed to, or in the presence of, SpECs. SpEC uptake was confirmed for Daphnia magna and Dreissena bugensis . E2 levels v...

Little is known about the combined effect of environmental factors and contaminants on commercially important marine species, and whether this effect differs by sex. In this study, blue mussels were exposed for seven days to both single and combined stressors (i.e., +3 °C elevated temperature and two environmentally relevant concentrations of the p...

Studies that aim to characterise the susceptibility of the ecologically relevant and non-model fish polar cod (Boreogadus saida) to model carcinogens are required. Polar cod were exposed under laboratory conditions for six months to control, 0.03 μg BaP/ g fish/ week and 0.3 μg BaP/ g fish/ week dietary benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), a reference carcinogen....

Mussels are suggested as bioindicators of marine microplastic pollution. However, they are selective in regards to accumulation of microplastics. To make studies more targeted and comparable, ultimately helping to determine the suitability of the mussel as a bioindicator species for microplastic exposure, we review the published literature that has...

We demonstrate how a combination of paper microfluidic devices and handheld mobile technology can be used by citizen scientists to carry out a sustained water monitoring campaign. We have developed a paper-based analysis device and a 3 minute sampling workflow that requires no more than a container, a test device and a smartphone app. The contamina...

Contamination of aquatic systems mainly by urbanization and poor sanitation, deficient or lack of wastewater treatments, dumping of solid residues, and run off has led to the presence of particles, including manmade polymers, in tissues of many marine and freshwater species. In this study, the prevalence of microplastics (MPs) in freshwater fish fr...

Microplastics (MPs) are an emerging contaminant ubiquitous in the environment. There is growing concern regarding potential human health effects, a major human exposure route being dietary uptake. We have undertaken a systematic review (SR) and meta-analysis to identify all relevant research on MP contamination of salt intended for human consumptio...

Background Microplastics (MPs) are omnipresent in the environment, including the human food chain; a likely important contributor to human exposure is drinking water. Objective To undertake a systematic review of MP contamination of drinking water and estimate quantitative exposures. Methods The protocol for the systematic review employed has bee...

We investigated the effects of short-term exposure of bare TiO2NPs and polyelectrolyte-coated TiO2NPs in the 5–25 nm size range, at relatively high concentrations (of 500 and 1000 mg/L) under light or dark conditions, in D. rerio embryos. The biological endpoints investigated included embryo viability and mRNA transcript levels of antioxidant and m...

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are widely used in commercial applications as antimicrobial agents, but there have recently been increasing concerns raised about their possible environmental and health impacts. In this study, zebrafish embryos were exposed to two sizes of AgNP, 4 and 10 nm, through a continuous exposure from 4 to 96 h post-fertilisati...

Microplastics have become a global concern in recent years. In this study, we studied (i) whether the presence of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) microparticles may affect cadmium (Cd) uptake in mussel (Mytilus edulis); and (ii) the biological effects of PVC microparticles exposure alone or in combination with Cd. Significant Cd uptake in digestive gland...

Clock genes and environmental cues regulate essential biological rhythms. The blue mussel, Mytilus edulis, is an ecologically and economically important intertidal bivalve undergoing seasonal reproductive rhythms. We previously identified seasonal expression differences in M. edulis clock genes. Herein, the effects of light/dark cycles, constant da...

Plastics have been widely reported to be present in the environment yet there are still many questions regarding the extent of this and the impacts these may have on both the environment and human health. The purpose of this investigation is to determine levels of micro and mesoplastic (MP), in the 1–5000 μm range, in commercially important species...

Purpose The aim of this study is to develop a normalization method for real-time PCR data by analyzing the most stably expressed control genes in mussel (Mytilus edulis) reproductive tissue. Methods To facilitate this, six candidate genes, including several commonly used in the literature, were investigated in mussels at different stages of gametog...

Mussels are susceptible to a wide range of environmental toxicants, including carcinogens, and thus are often employed as bioindicator species. To elucidate the molecular aetiology of such neoplastic damage, we have cloned Mytilus edulis homologues of the vertebrate ras proto-oncogene, and p53 tumor suppressor gene. The M. edulis ras cDNA encodes a...

Members of the vertebrate CYP3A subfamily are involved in the metabolism of steroids and a wide range of xenobiotics. In this study two CYP3A-like mRNAs have been isolated from the mussel (Mytilus edulis), and their seasonal expression profile and modulation by estrogens examined. Sexual dimorphism of CYP3A-like mRNA expression was not observed in...

There is a lack of data on the occurrence of pharmaceuticals in estuaries worldwide, with little understanding of their temporal and spatial variations globally. Ibuprofen, paracetamol, diclofenac, trimethoprim and citalopram were measured in twelve estuaries in the UK. Initially, these compounds were monitored in the Humber Estuary, where samples...

Global contamination of the marine environment by plastic has led to the discovery of microplastics in a range of marine species, including those for human consumption. In this study, the presence of micro-plastics and other anthropogenic debris in seawater and mussels (Mytilus edulis) from coastal waters of the U.K., as well as supermarket sources...

The ubiquity and high bioavailability of microplastics have an unknown risk on the marine environment. Biomonitoring should be used to investigate biotic impacts of microplastic exposure. While many studies have used mussels as indicators for marine microplastic pollution, a robust and clear justification for their selection as indicator species is...

The ubiquity and high bioavailability of microplastics have an unknown risk on the marine environment. Biomonitoring should be used to investigate biotic impacts of microplastic exposure. While many studies have used mussels as indicators for marine microplastic pollution, a robust and clear justification for their selection as indicator species is...

Global contamination of the marine environment by plastic has led to the discovery of microplastics in a range of marine species, including those for human consumption. In this study, the presence of microplastics and other anthropogenic debris in seawater and mussels (Mytilus edulis) from coastal waters of the U.K., as well as supermarket sources,...

Many studies predict negative effects of ocean acidification on marine organisms, potentially leading to loss of biodiversity and ecosystem function. Research on species inhabiting naturally high pCO2 environments, such as volcanic CO2 vents, offers an opportunity to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in high pCO2 regulation. Here we inve...

Environmental cues allow organisms to synchronise their internal biological rhythms with external environmental cycles. These rhythms are regulated on a molecular level by oscillating interactions between clock genes and their proteins. Light is a particularly relevant environmental cue, provisioning daily information via light/dark cycles as well...

Liver tumours in flatfish have been diagnosed using histopathology for decades to monitor the impacts of marine pollution. Here we describe the application of specific gene (retinoblastoma, Rb) profiling in laser capture micro-dissected samples, and a suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) approach to isolate differentially expressed genes in...

Environmental pollution caused by pharmaceuticals has been recognized as a major threat to the aquatic ecosystems. Carbamazepine, as the widely prescribed antiepileptic drug, has been frequently detected in the aquatic environment and has created concerns about its potential impacts in the aquatic organisms. The effects of carbamazepine on zebrafis...

A high prevalence of skin pigmented lesions of 15% was recently reported in coral trout Plectropomus leopardus, a commercially important marine fish, inhabiting the Great Barrier Reef. Herein, fish were sampled at two offshore sites, characterised by high and low lesion prevalence. A transcriptomic approach using the suppressive subtractive hybridi...

Short-Term Effects of CO2- Induced Low pH Exposure on Target Gene Expression in Platynereis dumerilii Objective: Increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration are causing changes to the seawater carbonate chemistry, lowering the pH and we study potential impacts of these changes at the molecular level in a non-calcifying, marine polychaete species Platy...

Fossil fuel emissions and changes in net land use lead to an increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration and a subsequent decrease of ocean pH. Noticeable effects on organisms' calcification rate, shell structure and energy metabolism have been reported in the literature. To date, little is known about the molecular mechanisms altered under low pH ex...

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been widely used in commercial products. This study aims to understand the impact of AgNPs on the early developmental stages in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos. Embryos were exposed to two sizes of AgNPs at three dose levels, as well to free Ag(+) ions, for a range of 4-96 h post-fertilization (hpf). The acute expo...

Fish diseases are an indicator for marine ecosystem health since they provide a biological end-point of historical exposure to stressors. Liver cancer has been used to monitor the effects of exposure to anthropogenic pollution in flatfish for many years. The prevalence of liver cancer can exceed 20%. Despite the high prevalence and the opportunity...

Intersex, the appearance of female characteristics in male gonads, has been identified in a wide range of aquatic species worldwide, yet the underpinning molecular etiology remains uncharacterised. The presence of intersex has been shown to be a widespread phenomenon in bivalve, S. plana, populations from the southwest coast of the U.K., as well as...

There is growing concern over the potential detrimental impact of ionizing radiation on natural biota. The mechanistic cause-and-effect impact of ionizing radiation has yet to be characterized in any aquatic species. Adopting an integrated approach, including radiochemical analysis of environmental samples, we evaluate molecular responses to ionizi...