Distinguish the toxic differentiations between acute exposure of micro- and nano-plastics on bivalves: An integrated study based on transcriptomic sequencing

• Published in: Aquatic toxicology 2023-01, Vol.254, p.106367, Article 106367
• Main Authors: Qi, Pengzhi, Qiu, Longmei, Feng, Dan, Gu, Zhongqi, Guo, Baoying, Yan, Xiaojun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Microplastics - toxicity; Microplastics and nanoplastics exposure; Mytilus; Mytilus coruscus; Plastics; Transcriptome; Transcriptome sequencing; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity
• ISSN: 0166-445X; 1879-1514
• DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2022.106367

•After two days of acute exposure, NPs can be ingested by mussels, but MPs cannot.•MNPs both induce inflammatory response as shown by histological analysis.•Transcriptomic sequencing revealed a series of toxicological responses to MNPs.•Upregulation of stress genes in MPs group and downregulation in NPs group.•MPs perhaps cause impairment of olfactory function and neurotoxicity to mussels. Plastic pollution represents one of the most severe marine environmental issues today. In the present study, mussel Mytilus coruscus, was selected as the model organism to probe the toxic effects of acute exposure to different sizes of plastic particles using integrated transcriptomic techniques and histological and biochemical analysis. Nanoplastics (NPs) were efficiently ingested by mussels, thereby inducing a severe inflammatory response. Although no distinct aggregation of microplastics (MPs) was observed, a slight inflammatory response has still occurred. Biochemical analysis revealed a significant up-regulation of biomarkers after exposure to plastic particles. Further, NPs caused more ROS production and higher T-AOC level than MPs. Transcriptomic sequencing was performed, and these differentially expressed genes after MNPs exposure were mostly enriched in pathways involved in stress and immune response. Notably, a contrast expression, substantial upregulation in MPs treatment and downregulation in NPs treatment of specific genes include in these pathways were revealed. Collectively, these results indicated that acute exposure to NPs is more toxic than MPs. Additionally, MPs exposure perhaps caused the impairment of olfactory function and neurotoxicity to mussels. These data provided some new clues for the elucidating of ecotoxicological mechanisms underlying plastic particles exposure.