Although the toxicity of nanoplastics (NPs) has already been reported in experimental aquatic models, their possible effects on the reproductive performance of viviparous freshwater fish and their consequences for embryos, so far, are unknown. Thus, we aimed to evaluate whether the gestational exposure of Poecilia reticulata to polystyrene NPs (PS NPs) impacts the reproductive performance of females, induces teratogenic effects and/or predictive alterations of redox unbalance and cholinesterasic effect. Our results demonstrate that gestational exposure of P. reticulata females (for 30 days) to PS NPs (50 µg/L) affected reproductive aspects of the animals, inferred by the lower percentage of pregnancy and reduced offspring quantity. Although we did not observe teratogenic effect, we observed that the accumulation of PS NPs in embryos was significantly correlated with a redox unbalance, without, however, having a cholinesterasic effect (via evaluation of AChE and BChE activity) in embryos. Thus, by evidencing the accumulation of PS NPs in embryos of P. reticulata females exposed to the pollutant during the gestational period, we confirm not only the plausibility of the maternal transfer of these nanomaterials, but also their consequent physiological impacts on the offspring, which has not yet been demonstrated in live-bearing freshwater fish.

尽管纳米塑料（NPs）的毒性已经在实验性水生模型中得到报道，但到目前为止，它们对胎生淡水鱼的繁殖性能及其对胚胎的影响可能产生的影响尚不清楚。因此，我们旨在评估Poecilia reticulata在妊娠期暴露于聚苯乙烯 NPs (PS NPs) 是否会影响雌性的生殖性能、诱导致畸作用和/或氧化还原不平衡和胆碱酯效应的预测性改变。我们的研究结果表明，P. reticulata雌性（30 天）对 PS NPs（50 µg/L) 影响了动物的生殖方面，这是通过较低的怀孕百分比和减少的后代数量来推断的。虽然我们没有观察到致畸作用，但我们观察到 PS NPs 在胚胎中的积累与氧化还原不平衡显着相关，但是在胚胎中没有胆碱酯效应（通过评估 AChE 和 BChE 活性）。因此，通过证明在妊娠期暴露于污染物的P. reticulata雌性胚胎中 PS NPs 的积累，我们不仅证实了这些纳米材料母体转移的合理性，而且证实了它们对后代的生理影响，这尚未在活体淡水鱼中得到证实。