Daphnia Facility

The Daphnia Facility is a key contributor to research excellence and innovation in the College of Life and Environmental Sciences and the University of Birmingham. We support PhD students and postdoctoral researchers undertaking projects in a variety of fields including evolutionary biology, (eco)toxicology, bioremediation, and genomics.

The facility also plays a central role in large-scale European projects such as Precision Tox and PARC, focusing on establishing new approach methodologies (NAMs) to safeguard both human health and the environment. Within UPSTREAM, we have been investigating the potential of Daphnia to combat microplastic and chemical pollution in rivers. Our groundbreaking work in water bioremediation technology has attracted widespread attention, with features in national media and on BBC R4’s ‘Rare Earth’ podcast series. Additionally, our researchers have expanded the previously annotated gene set for Daphnia magna through publication of the first hologenome of the species.

Our facility supports undergraduate and postgraduate student projects, providing hands-on training and resources for research. Previous students have explored diverse topics, including the impact of microplastics on Daphnia, how genetic variation influences Daphnia sensitivity to heavy metals, and design of a continuous algal production system. We also support the Cell Biology and Physiology module’s annual Daphnia heart rate practical for undergraduate Biosciences students.

Whilst primarily rooted within the College of Life and Environmental Sciences, we actively foster interdisciplinary collaborations across various colleges, including Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPS) and Medical and Dental Sciences (MDS). Several recent publications from researchers in the facility are a result of such interdisciplinary work.

The Daphnia Facility is also one of three facilities within the Centre for Environmental Research and Justice, a partnership between over 20 academics across three colleges specialising in research at the interface of toxicology and environmental governance.

Media Articles, Press Releases, and Reports

• 'Using water fleas to clean our waterways' is a top 10 case study in NCUB's report on collaborations between universities and businesses to tackle water challenges (Mar 2024)
• Professor Luisa Orsini's bioremediation work was picked up by The Guardian following a University of Birmingham press release (Sep 2023)
• University of Birmingham press release presents Daphnia as an 'early warning system' for chemical pollution (Sep 2022)
• Research addressing the effects of Roundup weedkiller is featured in The Telegraph and Pesticide News in the wake of a University of Birmingham press release (Dec 2020)

(Public) Engagement and Outreach

• Professor Luisa Orsini discusses how Daphnia can be used as an effective bioremediation tool on BBC R4’s ‘Rare Earth’ podcast series (Mar 2024)
• Professor Iseult Lynch joins Professor Alice Roberts on The Curiosity Vault to explore how we can make water safer for all (Nov 2023)
• Dr Katie Reilly presents on the impact of microplastics on Daphnia at Pint of Science (May 2023)
• Several of our researchers participate in the SETAC Dublin Science Slam [15:01 - 26:50] (May 2023)
• Professor Luisa Orsini and Dr Xiaojing Li feature as guest speakers on the Precision Tox Café Scientifique webinar (Dec 2022)
• Dr Katie Reilly showcases her 'Daphnia Detectives' research at British Science Festival (Sep 2022)
• Using Daphnia to purify wastewater is explained by Professor Luisa Orsini in a Scipod audiobook (Jan 2022)
• Professor Luisa Orsini shares her insights into Daphnia as a 'biodiversity time machine' on Precision Tox's Voxlab podcast (Dec 2021)

2023

• Abdullahi, Muhammad; Stead, Iestyn et al. “Harnessing water fleas for water reclamation: A nature-based tertiary wastewater treatment technology.” The Science of the Total Environment vol. 905 (2023): 167224. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167224
• Reilly, Katie; Ellis, Laura-Jayne; Davoudi, Hossein; Supian, Suffeiya et al. “Daphnia as a model organism to probe biological responses to nanomaterials-from individual to population effects via adverse outcome pathways.” Frontiers in Toxicology vol. 5 1178482. 14 (2023), doi:10.3389/ftox.2023.1178482
• PrecisionTox Consortium. “The Precision Toxicology initiative.” Toxicology Letters vol. 383 (2023): 33-42. doi:10.1016/j.toxlet.2023.05.004
• Chaturvedi, Anurag; Li, Xiaojing; Dhandapani, Vignesh; Marshall, Hollie et al. “The hologenome of Daphnia magna reveals possible DNA methylation and microbiome-mediated evolution of the host genome.” Nucleic Acids Research vol. 51,18 (2023): 9785-9803. doi:10.1093/nar/gkad685

2022

• Abdullahi, Muhammad; Li, Xiaojing et al. “Daphnia as a Sentinel Species for Environmental Health Protection: A Perspective on Biomonitoring and Bioremediation of Chemical Pollution.” Environmental Science & Technology vol. 56,20 (2022): 14237-14248. doi:10.1021/acs.est.2c01799
• Abdullahi, Muhammad et al. “Historical exposure to chemicals reduces tolerance to novel chemical stress in Daphnia (waterflea).” Molecular Ecology vol. 31,11 (2022): 3098-3111. doi:10.1111/mec.16451

2021

• Cuenca-Cambronero, Maria et al. “Evolutionary mechanisms underpinning fitness response to multiple stressors in Daphnia.” Evolutionary Applications vol. 14,10 (2021): 2457-2469. doi:10.1111/eva.13258
• Ellis, Laura-Jayne et al. “Multigenerational Exposure to Nano-TiO2 Induces Ageing as a Stress Response Mitigated by Environmental Interactions.” Advanced NanoBiomed Research vol. 1,6 (2021): p. 2000083. doi:10.1002/anbr.202000083

2020

• Suppa, Antonio et al. “Roundup causes embryonic development failure and alters metabolic pathways and gut microbiota functionality in non-target species.” Microbiome vol. 8,1 (2020): p. 170. doi:10.1186/s40168-020-00943-5
• Ellis, Laura-Jayne et al. “Multigenerational Exposures of Daphnia Magna to Pristine and Aged Silver Nanoparticles: Epigenetic Changes and Phenotypical Ageing Related Effects.” Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) vol. 16,21 (2020): e2000301. doi:10.1002/smll.202000301
• Constantinou, Julia K et al. “Characterisation of the dynamic nature of lipids throughout the lifespan of genetically identical female and male Daphnia magna.” Scientific Reports vol. 10,1 5576 (2020), doi:10.1038/s41598-020-62476-z
• Ellis, Laura-Jayne et al. “Maternal Responses and Adaptive Changes to Environmental Stress via Chronic Nanomaterial Exposure: Differences in Inter and Transgenerational Interclonal Broods of Daphnia magna.” International Journal of Molecular Sciences vol. 22,1 15. (2020), doi:10.3390/ijms22010015

2018

• Cuenca-Cambronero, Maria and Orsini, Luisa. “Resurrection of Dormant Daphnia magna: Protocol and Applications.” Journal of Visualized Experiments: JoVE ,131 56637 (2018), doi:10.3791/56637