Multigenerational toxic effects on Daphnia magna induced by silver nanoparticles and glyphosate mixture.

Multigenerational toxicological effects of a binary mixture (MR) of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with glyphosate (Gly) were identified in Daphnia magna using acute and chronic toxicity tests. Acute toxicity interactions were analyzed with the Abott method. In the chronic tests, the survival, growth, reproduction and age at first brood were evaluated for the parents and the exposed (F1E) and non-exposed (F1NE) descendants. The scales tested for MR, at the acute level, presented antagonistic and additive interactions, possibly associated with the complexation of the AgNPs by Gly. Multigenerational chronic effects related to the parameters reproduction and age at first brood were observed in the descendants tested with the individual compounds, with no recovery for F1E and F1NE. In organisms exposed to MR, there was a delay in the age at first brood, and also a significant change in the reproduction parameter, with a strong reduction for the parents, F1E and F1NE, indicating a higher toxicity than the compounds tested individually. Although the results for acute interactions between AgNP and Gly did not provide clear evidence, multigenerational chronic MR trials have resulted in unexpected toxicity compared to individual treatments, increasing the concerns associated with this co-exposure in other scenarios. Therefore, the interaction of MR with the organisms merits further study and the results reported herein will be useful in this regard. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.