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Updated: Sep 26, 2025
Accumulation and Distribution of Fluorescent Microplastics in the Early Life Stages of Zebrafish
Published on: July 4, 2021
The distinct toxicity effects between commercial and realistic polystyrene microplastics on microbiome and
Xiaotong Guo1, Min Lv2, Jinhua Li2
1CAS Key Laboratory of Coastal Environmental Processes and Ecological Remediation, Research Center for Coastal Environmental Engineering and Technology, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
Abstract:
As a ubiquitous emerging pollutant, microplastics (MPs) have attracted widespread attention. At this stage, researchers mainly employed commercial MPs (CMPs) as the model particles to explore the toxic effects of MPs. But whether CMPs can reflect the effects of realistic MPs (RMPs) still remains unknown. Herein, the effects of commercial and realistic polystyrene MPs on gut microbiota of zebrafish were compared. Considering MPs co-exist with antibiotics in real environment, we further distinguished the effects of CMPs and RMPs when they co-existed with enrofloxacin (ENR). The results revealed that while both CMPs and RMPs significantly shifted the gut microbiota, CMPs exhibited stronger toxic effects and more severe damage to gut. Furthermore, ENR exhibited a distinct effect with both CMPs and RMPs on gut microbiota, while the addition of CMPs and RMPs significantly alleviated the toxicity of ENR. In addition, analysis via Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway database revealed that seven major level 1 pathways associated with metabolism, information processing and diseases in the microbial community were affected. Taken together, this work is the first to report that CMPs could not represent RMPs in terms of toxicity and other behaviors, reminding people the limits of using CMPs in ecotoxicology studies.
Insights
Commercial microplastics (CMPs) do not accurately represent realistic microplastics (RMPs) in toxicity studies. This research highlights the limitations of using CMPs in ecotoxicology, impacting our understanding of microplastic pollution effects.
Area of Science:
- Environmental toxicology
- Microplastic pollution
- Gut microbiome research
Background:
- Microplastics (MPs) are pervasive pollutants with growing environmental concern.
- Commercial MPs (CMPs) are widely used in research, but their ecological relevance is uncertain.
- The interaction of MPs with co-occurring environmental contaminants like antibiotics is poorly understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the toxic effects of commercial microplastics (CMPs) versus realistic microplastics (RMPs) on zebrafish gut microbiota.
- To investigate the combined effects of CMPs/RMPs and enrofloxacin (ENR) on gut microbiota.
- To assess the validity of using CMPs as models for RMPs in ecotoxicological studies.
Main Methods:
- Zebrafish were exposed to CMPs and RMPs, both individually and in combination with enrofloxacin (ENR).
- Gut microbiota composition and diversity were analyzed.
- Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis was performed.
Main Results:
- Both CMPs and RMPs altered zebrafish gut microbiota, with CMPs showing greater toxicity and gut damage.
- Enrofloxacin (ENR) had distinct effects on gut microbiota with CMPs and RMPs.
- The presence of CMPs or RMPs mitigated the toxicity of ENR.
- Seven major KEGG pathways related to metabolism, information processing, and diseases were affected.
Conclusions:
- Commercial microplastics (CMPs) do not accurately mimic the effects of realistic microplastics (RMPs) on gut microbiota.
- CMPs may overestimate the toxicity of microplastic pollution.
- Findings underscore the limitations of using CMPs in ecotoxicology and environmental risk assessment.
