Analysis of the Impact of Three Phthalates on the Freshwater Gastropod Physella Acuta at the Transcriptional Level

Plastic pollution is one of the leading environmental problems. Phthalates are widely used plastic additives released into the environment. Although the phthalates' effects have been extensively studied on vertebrates, there is a gap in knowledge on their effects on invertebrates. This work analyzes the impact of three phthalates, diethyl phthalate (DEP), benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), and bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), on the gastropod Physella acuta at the molecular level to establish the putative pathways involved in its response to them. By real-time PCR, we obtained the expression profile of thirty genes in one-week exposed animals at 0.1, 10, and 1000 µg/L. The genes cover the DNA repairing mechanism, detoxification mechanisms, apoptosis, oxidative and stress responses, immunity, energy reserves, and lipid transport. The results show that while DEP and DEHP did not cause alteration of the mRNA levels, BBP modulates almost all the genes tested. It can be concluded that the impact of BBP is extensive at the molecular level. However, it cannot be dismissed that the increase in transcriptional activity is a general response due to this compound’s well-known role as an endocrine disruptor. Additional research is needed to elucidate the differences observed in the impact of these compounds on this gastropod.