Table 1.

Toxic effects of MPs/NPs on the reproduction of aquatic and terrestrial organisms.

Species	MPs/NPs Type	MPs/NPs Size	MPs/NPs Shape	Exposure Time	Effects on Reproduction	Reference
Arenicola marina	UPVC	130 µm	Beads	28 d	Alteration of growth, reproduction and survival related to suppressed feeding activity and reduced energy reserves.	[108]
Calanus helgolandicus	PS	20 µm	Beads	9 d	Smaller eggs with reduced hatching success.	[101]
Carcinus maenas	PS	0.5 µm	Beads	1 h–21 d	Presence of MPs in ovaries.	[11]
Ceriodaphnia dubia	PE	1–4 μm	Beads, fibres	8 d	Augmented mortality rate. Reduction of offspring number and body size.	[106]
Clarias gariepinus	LDPE	<60 μm	Irregular shape	96 h	Down-regulation of genes involved in steroid hormones biosynthesis.	[133]
Crassostrea gigas	PS	50 nm	Beads	1 h	Decreased percentage of motile spermatozoa and velocity. Reduced embryogenic success. No significant effects on morphology and functional characteristics of spermatozoa.	[112]
	PS	2 μm, 50, 500 nm	Beads	1.5 h, 36 h	Decreased fertilization success and embryo-larval development depending on particle functionalization.	[111]
	PS	2, 6 μm	Beads	60 d	Decrease in oocyte number, sperm diameter and speed. Reduction of larval development.	[103]
Danio rerio	PS	1 µm	Beads	21 d	Higher expression of steroidogenic genes in testis but not in ovaries. No variation of testosterone and 17-β-estradiol levels. No significant effects on progeny development.	[118]
	PS	70 nm	Beads	30 d	Accumulation of MPs in gonads.	[7]
Daphnia magna	MPs	1–5 µm	Beads	21 d	Parental death up to the extinction of F1 generation. Reduced fecundity and population growth rate. Slight transgenerational recovery after the depuration period.	[107]
	MPs	1–5 µm	Beads	21 d	Increased time of first brood emission. Increased number of immobile juveniles. Decreased clutches and number of progenies. Worsened effects with the co-exposure to gold nanoparticles and MPs.	[104]
	PS	70 nm	Beads	21 d	Impairment of population growth. Reduction of progeny. Decrease in newborn number and body size. Increase of progeny malformations.	[107]
Emerita analoga	PP	1 mm	Fibres	71 d	Decrease in retention time of egg clutches. Augmented number of later embryonic stages.	[109]
Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus	wild MPs	27–4742 μm	Fibres, fragments, sheets, beads	u	Presence of MPs in gonads.	[92]
Hydra attenuate	PE	<400 µm	Irregular shape	30 m, 60 m	No significant impairment of reproduction.	[117]
Mytilus edulis	PS	0.5 µm	Beads	1 h–21 d	Presence of MPs in ovaries.	[11]
Oryzias javanicus Oryzias latipes	PS	2 µm	Beads	21 d	No alteration in growth, survival and egg production.	[115]
Oryzias latipes	PS	10 µm	Beads	70 d	Reduction in egg production.	[114]
	PE	10–63 µm	Beads	90 d	Fewer egg number, hatching rate and growth rate.	[113]
Paracentrotus lividus	PS	10, 45 μm	Beads	72 h	Presence of MPs in gonads.	[69]
Pinctada margaritifera	PS	6, 10 μm	Beads	60 d	Impaired gametogenesis. Histological alterations in the gonads.	[110]
Tigriopus japonicus	PE PA	10–30 µm 5–20 µm	Irregular shape	24 h, 14 d	Prolongation in development time and in interval time between egg sacs.	[105]
	PS	0.5, 6 µm	Beads	96 h	Impaired fecundity evidenced by the reduction in number of nauplius per female.	[102]
Caenorhabditis elegans	PS	35 nm	Beads	4 d	Transgenerational effects on reproductive function, gonadal development and germline apoptosis, depending on particle functionalization.	[122]
	LDPE PLA/PBAT	57 µm 41 µm	Irregular shape	6 d	Reduction in offspring.	[120]
Eisenia andrei	PE	180–212 μm 250–300 μm	Beads	21 d	Impaired spermatogenesis and histological alterations in male gonads. Negligible effects on oogenesis and female gonads.	[28]
Enchytraeus crypticus	PA	13–18 μm 63–90 μm 90–150 μm	Irregular shape	20 h	Reduction of juveniles per adult.	[121]
Folsomia candida	PE	<500 µm	Beads	28 d	Decreased reproductive function with reduction of juvenile number.	[123]
BALB/c mice	PS	0.5, 4, 10 μm	u	28 d	Presence of PS into testicular cells. Decreased sperm quality and increased abnormality rate. Reduced testosterone levels. Testicular inflammation and damaged blood-testis barrier.	[25]
ICR mice	PS	5 μm	u	35 d	Decreased number of spermatids/spermatozoa with altered sperm quality. Increased testicular inflammation and apoptosis rate.	[124]
	PE	40–48 μm	u	90 d	Enlargement of Fallopian tubes in dams. Fewer live births per dam and altered sex ratio of progeny. Reduced body weight of pups.	[126]
Sprague Dawley rats	PS	20 nm	Beads	24 h	PS particles translocation to placental and foetal tissues 24 h after maternal exposure.	[127]
Wistar rats	PS	25, 50 nm	Beads	35 d	Presence of PS in testis. Histological alterations of testicular tissue. Alteration of sex hormones levels. Impaired spermatogenesis and increased DNA damage.	[95]
Human placenta	MPs	u	Beads, irregular shape	u	Presence of MPs fragments in human placental tissues.	[94]
	PS	0.5 µm, 50 nm	Beads	24 h	Internalization of PS particles in placental cells.	[131]
	PS	50, 80, 240, 500 nm	Beads	3 h	Crossing of the placental barrier by PS particles in a size-dependent manner.	[130]

d: days; h: hours; LDPE: low-density polyethylene; m: minutes; MPs: microplastics; NPs: nanoplastics; PA: polyamide; PE: polyethylene; PLA/PBAT: polylactide/poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate); PP: polypropylene; PS: polystyrene; PVC: polyvinyl chloride; u: unknown; UPVC: unplasticised polyvinylchloride.