College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, PR China.
College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, PR China.
Chemosphere. 2020 Oct;257:127200. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127200. Epub 2020 May 25.
The extensive application of nanoparticles (NPs) drives their release into the ocean, which may pose a potential threat to marine organisms. Although the byssus is important for the survival of mussels, the effects of NPs on byssal attachment and the underlying molecular byssal responses remain largely unknown. Therefore, the impacts of three metal oxide NPs (nTiO, nZnO, and nFeO) on the production and mechanical properties of byssal thread in the thick shell mussel M. coruscus were investigated in this study. The results showed that both mechanical properties (such as strength and extensibility) and morphology (diameter and volume) of byssal thread newly produced by M. coruscus were significantly affected after NP exposure, which resulted in an approximately 60-66% decrease in mussel byssal attachment strength. Downregulated expression of genes encoding mussel foot proteins, precursor collagen proteins, and proximal thread matrix proteins was also detected in this study, and this alteration may be one of the reasons for the weakened mechanical properties of byssal threads after NP exposure. This study indicated that NP pollution may hamper byssal attachment of M. coruscus and thereby pose a severe threat to the health of mussel individuals and the stability of the intertidal ecosystem.
纳米颗粒（NPs）的广泛应用促使其释放到海洋中，这可能对海洋生物构成潜在威胁。尽管贻贝的足丝对于贻贝的生存很重要，但 NPs 对足丝附着的影响以及潜在的分子足丝反应仍知之甚少。因此，本研究探讨了三种金属氧化物 NPs（nTiO、nZnO 和 nFeO）对厚壳贻贝 M. coruscus 新产生的足丝的生产和机械性能的影响。结果表明，贻贝足丝的机械性能（如强度和伸展性）和形态（直径和体积）在 NP 暴露后均受到显著影响，导致贻贝足丝附着强度下降约 60-66%。本研究还检测到编码贻贝足部蛋白、前胶原蛋白和近端丝基质蛋白的基因表达下调，这种改变可能是 NP 暴露后足丝机械性能减弱的原因之一。本研究表明，NP 污染可能会妨碍贻贝的附着，从而对贻贝个体的健康和潮间带生态系统的稳定性构成严重威胁。
