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Polystyrene microplastics alter the intestinal microbiota function and the hepatic metabolism status in marine medaka

Shibo Feng1, Yanhua Zeng1, Zhonghua Cai1

  • 1Shenzhen Public Platform for Screening & Application of Marine Microbial Resources, Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, PR China; Institute for Ocean Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, PR China.

The Science of the Total Environment
|November 16, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Microplastics (MPs) exposure in medaka fish altered gut microbiota structure and function, leading to decreased body weight and disrupted liver health. These changes suggest MPs disrupt the gut-liver axis, impacting host metabolism and endocrine balance.

Area of Science:

  • Environmental Science
  • Toxicology
  • Microbiology

Background:

  • Assessing microplastic (MP) effects requires evaluating gut microbial structure, function, and host health associations.
  • Polystyrene MPs (PS-MPs) are prevalent environmental contaminants with largely unknown impacts on aquatic organisms.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effects of different PS-MP particle sizes on medaka gut microbiota structure, function, and host health.
  • To explore the potential toxicological mechanisms of PS-MPs, focusing on the gut-liver axis.

Main Methods:

  • Medaka were orally administered PS-MPs (2 and 200 μm) at varying concentrations (0.3 and 3.0 μg/mg) for 28 days.
  • Evaluated fish body weight, gut histopathology, liver anti-oxidative status, gut microbial structure and function, metabolism, and endocrine balance.

Main Results:

  • PS-MP exposure decreased medaka body weight and disrupted liver anti-oxidative status, without causing gut histopathology.
  • Significant shifts in gut microbial structure and function were observed, including altered carbon degradation/fixation and modified nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur metabolism.
  • Metabolic disturbances (glycolipid, tyrosine, energy) and endocrine imbalance were noted, correlating with gut microecology changes.

Conclusions:

  • PS-MPs disrupt medaka gut microbiota and function, contributing to gut-liver axis disruption.
  • These disruptions are linked to host metabolic disorders and endocrine imbalance, highlighting potential toxicological mechanisms of MPs.
  • This study enhances understanding of the relationship between gut dysbiosis and host metabolic dysfunction following MP exposure.
Keywords:
Gut microbial functionGut-liver axisMedakaPolystyrene microplasticsToxicological mechanisms

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