Ingestion of microplastics and its potential for causing structural alterations and oxidative stress in Indian green mussel Perna viridis– A multiple biomarker approach

• Published in: Chemosphere (Oxford) 2021-11, Vol.283, p.130979-130979, Article 130979
• Main Authors: Vasanthi, Rajkumar L., Arulvasu, Chinnasamy, Kumar, Ponnuchamy, Srinivasan, Pappu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biomarker; Digestive diverticula; Gills; Green mussel; Histology; Microplastics; Perna viridis
• ISSN: 0045-6535; 1879-1298
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.130979

The present study has investigated the distribution of microplastics in sediment and its impact on histological, ultrastructural, and oxidative stress mechanisms in Perna viridis (P. viridis) from Kasimedu, Chennai, India. The results confirmed that fibers were the predominant type of microplastics observed, followed by spheres, flakes, sheets, and fragments. The observed microplastics were confirmed as polyester, polypropylene, polyethylene, cellophane, and rayon using μ-FT-IR. Microplastic particles entangled in gills caused abrasion of ciliated structure and hemocyte infiltration in the hemolymph vessels. The digestive gland showed a shrunken nucleus, dark inclusions, and damage in the nucleoid core structure. Enlarged vacuoles and the presence of clusters of vesicles presumably represented the transformed golgi cisternae. Further, the results confirmed that oxidative stress markers were significantly high in gills and digestive diverticula of P. viridis. Overall, the results indicated that microplastics induced different toxic physiological and structural alterations in gills and digestive diverticula of P. viridis. These findings highlighted the necessity to focus on exposure studies to understand the absolute magnitude of the problem due to microplastic pollution in the urban estuarine ecosystems of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. [Display omitted] •Distribution of microplastics and its impacts were studied in P. viridis.•Fibers were the predominant type of microplastics identified.•μ-FT-IR analysis confirmed 132 items were plastics of various types.•Light and transmission electron microscopy revealed severe damage of organs.•Gills and digestive glands of mussels were the ideal tissues for assessing the fate of microplastics.