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Metabolic impacts of polystyrene microplastics on the freshwater microalga Microcystis aeruginosa
Yifan Fan1, Tong Liu1, Xin Qian2
1State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
Abstract:
Microplastics (plastic particles < 5 mm; MPs) are ubiquitous in aquatic environments but their potential adverse ecological effects on biota remain poorly understood. This is in part because in typical ecotoxicology tests the toxic effects of MPs were found to be limited. To capture the potential find-scale effects of MPs on freshwater organisms, we employed ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry based untargeted metabolomics to investigate the metabolic impact of polystyrene microbeads microplastics (PS-MPs) of different sizes (0.1, 1, 10, 100 μm) and concentrations (1, 10, 100 mg/L) on a common freshwater microalga, Microcystis aeruginosa, after a 96-h exposure test. The phenotype-based results illustrated that while PS-MPs had no discernible effects on microalgal growth and photosynthesis, both oxidative stress and microcystin production were slightly increased. Metabolomics analysis revealed that the PS-MPs altered the global metabolic profile of the microalga. Specially, PS-MPs of larger size and higher concentration induced a larger number of differentially expressed metabolites. The PS-MPs significantly disturbed metabolisms involved in amino acid synthesis, membrane formation, nitrogen storage, and antioxidant defense of the microalga, consistent with the phenotypic observations. These results suggested several perturbed metabolic pathways, especially arginine-related pathways, as the mechanism. Our study showed that the insights provided by metabolomics-based approaches can enhance assessments of the ecological impacts of MPs on freshwater organisms.
Insights
Microplastics (MPs) can impact freshwater algae metabolism, even without affecting growth. Metabolomics reveals MPs disrupt amino acid, membrane, and antioxidant pathways, highlighting subtle ecological risks.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Toxicology
- Metabolomics
- Aquatic Ecology
Background:
- Microplastics (MPs) are pervasive in aquatic ecosystems, yet their ecological impact on aquatic life is not fully understood.
- Traditional ecotoxicology tests show limited adverse effects of MPs, necessitating advanced methods to detect subtle impacts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the metabolic effects of polystyrene microbeads (PS-MPs) on the freshwater microalga Microcystis aeruginosa using untargeted metabolomics.
- To assess how different sizes and concentrations of PS-MPs influence microalgal metabolism and identify affected biological pathways.
Main Methods:
- Exposure of Microcystis aeruginosa to various sizes (0.1, 1, 10, 100 μm) and concentrations (1, 10, 100 mg/L) of PS-MPs for 96 hours.
- Phenotypic analysis of algal growth and photosynthesis.
- Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) based untargeted metabolomics to analyze metabolic profiles.
Main Results:
- PS-MPs did not significantly affect microalgal growth or photosynthesis.
- Slight increases in oxidative stress and microcystin production were observed.
- Metabolomics revealed significant alterations in the microalgal metabolic profile, with larger MPs and higher concentrations causing more pronounced changes.
- Disturbances were noted in metabolisms related to amino acid synthesis, membrane formation, nitrogen storage, and antioxidant defense, particularly affecting arginine pathways.
Conclusions:
- Metabolomics can detect subtle ecological impacts of microplastics on freshwater organisms that are missed by traditional methods.
- Polystyrene microplastics induce metabolic disruptions in Microcystis aeruginosa, suggesting potential for broader ecological consequences.
- Arginine-related metabolic pathways are particularly sensitive to microplastic exposure in freshwater microalgae.
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