Tire-wear particle leachate toxicity to Americamysis bahia: analysis of sublethal and molecular effects

Tire-wear particles (TWPs) are considered among the largest contributors of microplastics to the environment. They are subject to break-down due to environmental weathering, which allows for potentially toxic chemicals to be leached from and sorbed onto the particles. In this study, leachate generated from “weathered” and “un-weathered” TWPs were used for sublethal toxicity tests with Americamysis bahia. Overall design: Organisms were exposed for 2, 4, and 6 days and the effects endpoints included changes in respiration rate and molecular responses (i.e., changes in the abundance of transcripts after 4 days of exposure).