Heavy metals in aquatic ecosystems: an escalating global concern
Heavy metals’ contamination of aquatic ecosystems is an ever-growing environmental and public health Research Topic. Heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg) persist in the environment, accumulate in aquatic organisms, and biomagnify through the food chain, ultimately affecting human health (El-Sappah et al., 2017; El-Sappah et al., 2022). Industrialization, agriculture, and urbanization have accelerated the release of these toxic substances into marine and freshwater ecosystems.
This Research Topic seeks to consolidate studies examining heavy metals’ genetic, proteomic, physiological, and environmental effects on aquatic animals while enhancing understanding of their indirect implications for human health. This editorial consolidates the principal results of the papers in this Research Topic and emphasizes their cumulative impact on the field.
Genomic and proteomic insights into metal stress responses
Understanding organisms’ molecular and genetic responses to heavy metals is crucial for developing biomarkers and mitigation strategies. In this context:
Ebrahim et al. analyzed Grx4, Fep1, and Php4 transcription factors in Schizosaccharomyces pombe, providing insights into iron homeostasis mechanisms and protein-protein interactions in metal sensing.
Ortega et al. provided a revised glutathione-S-transferase (GST) gene map in Tetrahymena thermophila, demonstrating stressor-specific gene expression patterns in response to cadmium and arsenic.
These researches underscore the significance of transcriptome and gene regulatory analysis in discerning adaptation mechanisms and possible biomarkers in aquatic creatures subjected to heavy metals.
Physiological and biochemical effects of metal exposure
In addition to genetic alterations, metal exposure causes significant physiological and metabolic disturbances:
Zhou et al. demonstrated that short-term depuration alleviates cadmium-induced oxidative stress in Meretrix meretrix.
Zeng et al. explored the dose-dependent interaction between iron toxicity and the antibiotic norfloxacin in Larimichthys crocea.
Ahmed et al. revealed shared stress pathways under salinity and metal exposure in common carp, primarily via immune and hormonal regulation.
These papers demonstrate how heavy metals disrupt physiological homeostasis and provide environmental and aquaculture management insights.
Environmental monitoring and risk assessment for human health
To safeguard public health, it is essential to evaluate the prevalence and hazards of heavy metals in aquatic ecosystems:
Tolga’s research on Turkish wastewater effluents revealed carcinogenic hazards associated with chromium and nickel.
Zhang et al. demonstrated considerable arsenic deposition in fish from the South China Sea, presenting a concern to consumers.
Wang et al. correlated heavy metal-induced reactive oxygen species production in fish with human sick.
These articles enhance our subject by linking environmental pollution to ecological and human health hazards.
Expanding omics-based toxicology for environmental health
The use of high-throughput omics technology facilitates comprehensive investigations of metal-induced damage:
Wang et al. used transcriptome and proteomic analyses to investigate phosgene-induced pulmonary damage, emphasizing similarities with processes of metal toxicity.
Collectively, these investigations endorse the ongoing use of integrated omics to comprehend the comprehensive impact of pollutants.
Conclusion: towards a unified strategy in aquatic toxicology and public health
This Research Topic highlights that heavy metals impact aquatic creatures at several levels, including gene expression, physiology, and ecosystem health, directly affecting human exposure and illness. Future research should prioritize long-term biomonitoring initiatives that include biomarkers across many species and ecosystems. Interdisciplinary methodologies integrating ecology, genetics, environmental chemistry, and public health. Science-informed policy-making to manage discharges and protect ecosystems.
We thank all authors and reviewers for their contributions to this significant compilation. We anticipate it will provide a basis for ongoing research and initiatives to address heavy metal contamination in aquatic ecosystems.
Statements
Author contributions
AE-S: Project administration, Writing – review and editing, Writing – original draft. HA-K: Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing. MA: Writing – review and editing, Writing – original draft. SZ: Writing – review and editing, Writing – original draft. JL: Writing – review and editing, Writing – original draft.
Funding
The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research and/or publication of this article.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Generative AI statement
The authors declare that no Generative AI was used in the creation of this manuscript.
Publisher’s note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
References
1
El-SappahA. H.SeifM. M.Abdel-KaderH. H.SoaudS. A.ElhamidM. A.AbdelghaffarA. M.et al (2022). Genotoxicity and trace elements contents analysis in nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) indicated the levels of aquatic contamination at three Egyptian areas. Front. Vet. Sci.9, 818866. 10.3389/fvets.2022.818866
2
El-SappahA. H.ShawkyA.Sayed-AhmadM. S.YoussefM. (2017). Estimation of heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) gene expression in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) using quantitative Real-Time PCR. Zagazig J. Agric. Res.44, 1003–1015. 10.21608/ZJAR.2017.52300
Summary
Keywords
heavy metal, toxicity, ecosystem, genetic responses, antibiotics
Citation
El-Sappah AH, Abdel-Kader HH, Abbas M, Zafar S and Li J (2025) Editorial: Impact of heavy metal on aquatic life and human health. Front. Genet. 16:1608524. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2025.1608524
Received
09 April 2025
Accepted
14 April 2025
Published
23 April 2025
Volume
16 - 2025
Edited and reviewed by
Douglas Mark Ruden, Wayne State University, United States
Updates
Copyright
© 2025 El-Sappah, Abdel-Kader, Abbas, Zafar and Li.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Ahmed H. El-Sappah, ahmed_elsappah2006@yahoo.com, 2020110009@yibinu.edu.cn; Heba H. Abdel-Kader, hebaelalkamy3232@gmail.com; Jia Li, jia.li16@aliyun.com
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.