Microplastics Lead to Hyperactive Swimming Behaviour in Adult Zebrafish

• Published in: Aquatic toxicology 2020-07, Vol.224, p.105521, Article 105521
• Main Authors: Chen, Qiqing, Lackmann, Carina, Wang, Weiye, Seiler, Thomas-Benjamin, Hollert, Henner, Shi, Huahong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: energy depletion; hyperactivity; microplastics; zebrafish
• ISSN: 0166-445X; 1879-1514
• DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2020.105521

[Display omitted] •Microplastics accumulated in GIT and gill, but not found in brain and muscle.•Microplastic exposure led to the thinning of muscularis layer in the gut.•Zebrafish became hyperactivity after microplastic exposure.•Energy-supplying substances shortage occurred after microplastic exposure. Microplastic pollution has drawn the attention of both scientists and the public regarding their potential ecotoxicological risks. In the present study, we carried out aqueous exposure experiments to adult zebrafish with polystyrene microplastics (5 μm) at a wide range of concentrations (0.001-20 mg/L, equals to 14.5∼2.9 × 105 particles/mL). Our results showed the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) was the dominant microplastic accumulation site in zebrafish, followed by the gill, whereas no microplastics were detected in the brain or muscle. Microplastic accumulation in GIT did not cause obvious damages to intestinal villi in general. However, the thickness of muscularis layer in the foregut reduced by 32% after 1 mg/L (1.45 × 104 particles/mL) microplastic exposure. As there were no signs of oxidative stress or other histological changes found in the fish, we further investigated the energy-supplying influential factors. We found that the zebrafish became hyperactive after microplastic exposure, whose swimming distance had increased to 1.3-2.4 folds than that of control, and also stayed at manic and active states much longer. The fish behavioural alteration is probably attributed to the particulate matter stimulation and the up-regulation of estrogen contents. Results also showed that the excessive movements of zebrafish also led to decreased glucose and acetaldehyde metabolite contents and increased amino acid amounts, which further proved the shortage of energy-supplying substances. Therefore, the present study suggests that micro-sized microplastics can induce obvious behavioural abnormality at concentrations that some other toxicological endpoints may not warn effects.