Reproductive Toxicity and Multi/Transgenerational Effects of Emerging Pollutants on <i>C. elegans</i>
Zhiling Wu,
Lingqiao Wang,
Weihua Chen,
Yiqi Wang,
Ke Cui,
Weiyan Chen,
Jijun Liu,
Huidong Jin,
Ziyuan Zhou
Affiliations
Zhiling Wu
Department of Environmental Health, College of Preventive Medicine, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), Chongqing 400038, China
Lingqiao Wang
Department of Environmental Health, College of Preventive Medicine, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), Chongqing 400038, China
Weihua Chen
Central & Southern China Municipal Engineering Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd., Wuhan 430010, China
Yiqi Wang
Department of Environmental Health, College of Preventive Medicine, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), Chongqing 400038, China
Ke Cui
Department of Environmental Health, College of Preventive Medicine, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), Chongqing 400038, China
Weiyan Chen
Department of Environmental Health, College of Preventive Medicine, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), Chongqing 400038, China
Jijun Liu
Chongqing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Chongqing 400707, China
Huidong Jin
Department of Environmental Health, College of Preventive Medicine, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), Chongqing 400038, China
Ziyuan Zhou
Department of Environmental Health, College of Preventive Medicine, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), Chongqing 400038, China
Emerging pollutants (EPs) are receiving increasing attention due to the threats they pose to the environment and human health. As EPs continue to emerge, risk assessment requires many model animals. Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) has been an outstanding toxicological model organism due to its growth and development characteristics. Particularly, in studying the transgenerational influences of EPs, C. elegans has advantages in saving time and cost due to its short generation cycle. As infertility has become a major problem in human reproductive health, reproductive toxicities of EPs on contemporary nematodes and across generations of C. elegans were introduced in this review. Moreover, the underlying mechanisms involved in germ cell apoptosis, spermatogenesis, and epigenetic alteration were discussed. Future research opportunities and challenges are also discussed to expand our understanding of the reproductive influences of EPs.
