PubMed · 2026-02-16
Antibiotic residues flushed through wastewater treatment plants are present at levels that disrupt early animal development by hijacking a fundamental cellular signaling pathway. The study identifies three common antibiotics as top offenders and pinpoints a specific molecular target that could serve as an early-warning biomarker for ecological risk.
A review of 121 studies found amoxicillin, trimethoprim, and norfloxacin are the highest-priority antibiotic contaminants in wastewater treatment plant effluents worldwide.
Zebrafish embryos exposed to environmentally realistic antibiotic concentrations developed pericardial edema, oxidative stress, and impaired heart function in a dose-dependent manner.
CRISPR-based silencing of the wnt1 gene significantly reduced cardiac malformations and cell death, confirming Wnt/β-catenin signaling disruption as the core toxic mechanism.