School of Biotechnology, Dublin City University, Republic of Ireland.
Department of Molecular Systems Biology, UFZ - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany.
J Hazard Mater. 2023 Sep 15;458:132023. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132023. Epub 2023 Jul 10.
Plastic waste is considered a major threat for terrestrial, marine and freshwater ecosystems. Ingestion of primary or secondary microparticles resulting from plastic degradation can lead to their trophic transfer raising serious health concerns. In this study, the effect of amine and carboxy functionalized polystyrene microparticles on the physiology of daphnids was investigated with a combination of phenotypic and metabolic endpoints. Carboxy functionalized microparticles showed higher toxicity in acute exposures compared to their amine counterparts. Accumulation of both microparticles in animal gut was confirmed by stereo-microscopy as well as fluorescent microscopy which showed no presence of particles in the rest of the animal. Fluorescence based quantification of microparticles extracted from animal lysates validated their concentration-dependent uptake. Additionally, exposure of daphnids to amine and carboxy functionalized microparticles resulted in increased activities of key enzymes related to metabolism and detoxification. Finally, significant metabolic perturbations were discovered following exposure to microplastics. These findings suggest that polystyrene microparticles can hinder organism performance of the freshwater species and highlight the importance of seeking for holistic and physiological endpoints for pollution assessment.
塑料废物被认为是陆地、海洋和淡水生态系统的主要威胁。塑料降解产生的原发性或继发性微颗粒的摄入可能导致其营养转移，引发严重的健康问题。在这项研究中，我们结合表型和代谢终点研究了胺和羧基功能化聚苯乙烯微颗粒对水蚤生理的影响。羧基功能化微颗粒在急性暴露中的毒性高于其胺对应物。立体显微镜和荧光显微镜证实了两种微颗粒在动物肠道中的积累，并且没有发现颗粒存在于动物的其他部位。从动物组织裂解物中提取的微颗粒的荧光定量验证了其浓度依赖性摄取。此外，暴露于胺和羧基功能化微颗粒会导致与代谢和解毒相关的关键酶活性增加。最后，暴露于微塑料后会发现显著的代谢扰动。这些发现表明，聚苯乙烯微颗粒可能会阻碍淡水物种的生物表现，并强调寻求综合和生理终点进行污染评估的重要性。
