Key Laboratory of Aquatic Eutrophication and Control of Harmful Algal Blooms of Guangdong Higher Education Institute, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, PR China.
Key Laboratory of Aquatic Eutrophication and Control of Harmful Algal Blooms of Guangdong Higher Education Institute, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, PR China.
Harmful Algae. 2024 Jun;136:102652. doi: 10.1016/j.hal.2024.102652. Epub 2024 May 25.
Microplastics are well known as contaminants in marine environments. With the development of biofilms, most microplastics will eventually sink and deposit in benthic environment. However, little research has been done on benthic toxic dinoflagellates, and the effects of microplastics on benthic dinoflagellates are unknown. Prorocentrum lima is a cosmopolitan toxic benthic dinoflagellate, which can produce a range of polyether metabolites, such as diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) toxins. In order to explore the impact of microplastics on marine benthic dinoflagellates, in this paper, we studied the effects of polystyrene (PS) on the growth and toxin production of P. lima. The molecular response of P. lima to microplastic stress was analyzed by transcriptomics. We selected 100 nm, 10 μm and 100 μm PS, and set three concentrations of 1 mg L, 10 mg L and 100 mg L. The results showed that PS exposure had limited effects on cell growth, but increased the OA and extracellular polysaccharide content at high concentrations. After exposure to PS MPs, genes associated with DSP toxins synthesis, carbohydrate synthesis and energy metabolism, such as glycolysis, TCA cycle and pyruvate metabolism, were significantly up-regulated. We speculated that after exposure to microplastics, P. lima may increase the synthesis of DSP toxins and extracellular polysaccharides, improve the level of energy metabolism and gene expression of ABC transporter, thereby protecting algal cells from damage. Our findings provide new insights into the effects of microplastics on toxic benthic dinoflagellates.
微塑料是海洋环境中众所周知的污染物。随着生物膜的发展，大多数微塑料最终会下沉并沉积在海底环境中。然而，对于海底有毒甲藻，研究甚少，微塑料对海底甲藻的影响尚不清楚。利马原甲藻是一种世界性的有毒海底甲藻，它可以产生一系列聚醚代谢物，如腹泻性贝类毒素（DSP）毒素。为了探索微塑料对海洋底栖甲藻的影响，本文研究了聚苯乙烯（PS）对利马原甲藻生长和产毒的影响。通过转录组学分析了利马原甲藻对微塑料胁迫的分子反应。我们选择了 100nm、10μm 和 100μm 的 PS，并设置了三个浓度，即 1mg/L、10mg/L 和 100mg/L。结果表明，PS 暴露对细胞生长的影响有限，但在高浓度下增加了 OA 和胞外多糖的含量。在暴露于 PS MPs 后，与 DSP 毒素合成、碳水化合物合成和能量代谢相关的基因，如糖酵解、TCA 循环和丙酮酸代谢，显著上调。我们推测，暴露于微塑料后，利马原甲藻可能会增加 DSP 毒素和胞外多糖的合成，提高 ABC 转运蛋白的能量代谢和基因表达水平，从而保护藻类细胞免受损伤。我们的研究结果为微塑料对有毒底栖甲藻的影响提供了新的见解。
