International Research Center for Marine Biosciences, Ministry of Science and Technology, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China; Key Laboratory of Exploration and Utilization of Aquatic Genetic Resources, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China.
Zhejiang Ocean Monitoring and Forecasting Center, Hangzhou, 310007, China.
Mar Environ Res. 2021 Oct;171:105455. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2021.105455. Epub 2021 Aug 27.
Microplastics (MPs) have become a ubiquitous emerging pollutant in the global marine environment. The potential toxic effects of MPs and interactions of MP pollution with other stressors such as food limitation on marine organisms' health are not yet well understood. This study investigated the effects of three-week exposure to different MPs and food shortage on the physical defense mechanisms (byssus production and properties) of Mytilus coruscus. Starvation significantly reduced the number of byssus threads, and combined exposure to MPs and food shortage suppressed the adhesion ability and condition index of mussels. The length of the byssus threads was not affected by all experimental exposures. Transcript levels of genes encoding key proteins involved in byssus formation (the mussel foot proteins mfp-1, -2, -3, -4, -5 and -6, and prepolymerized collagen proteins preCOL-D, -P and -NG) were altered by interactions between the MPs and food shortage. These findings show that insufficient food supply can exacerbate the adverse effects of MPs on mussel defense which might have implications for survival and fitness of mussels under food limited conditions (e.g. in winter) in polluted coastal habitats.
微塑料（MPs）已成为全球海洋环境中普遍存在的新兴污染物。 MPs 的潜在毒性效应以及与其他胁迫因素（如食物限制）的相互作用对海洋生物健康的影响尚不完全清楚。本研究调查了暴露于不同 MPs 和食物短缺 3 周对贻贝（Mytilus coruscus）物理防御机制（贻贝生产和特性）的影响。饥饿显著减少了贻贝丝的数量，而 MPs 暴露和食物短缺的联合作用抑制了贻贝的粘附能力和状况指数。所有实验暴露都没有影响贻贝丝的长度。编码参与贻贝形成的关键蛋白的基因（贻贝足部蛋白 mfp-1、-2、-3、-4、-5 和 -6 以及预聚合胶原蛋白 preCOL-D、-P 和 -NG）的转录水平因 MPs 和食物短缺之间的相互作用而发生改变。这些发现表明，食物供应不足会加剧 MPs 对贻贝防御的不利影响，这可能对污染沿海栖息地中冬季等食物有限条件下贻贝的生存和适应能力产生影响。
