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Effects of microplastics on earthworm gut microbiome, their immunity system and metabolome
Summary
This study investigated the behavior of microplastic particles in estuarine salinity gradients, finding that particle aggregation and settling velocity increased significantly at higher salinities due to changes in double-layer repulsion. The results suggest that estuaries serve as efficient traps for microplastics transported from freshwater systems toward coastal marine environments.
Microplastics are widespread pollutants found in aquatic, atmospheric, and soil environments. They are released directly into the soil, for example, from mulch films and textiles. Microplastics accumulate in the soil and can have a negative impact on soil microfauna and macrofauna. Earthworms, acting as ecosystem engineers, and soil and gut bacteria play a significant role in biogeochemical cycles of biogenic elements. Disruption of earthworm function, their gut bacteria, or soil bacteria could have an impact on the entire ecosystem. In the context of this thesis, earthworms of the species Apporectodea sp. were exposed to microplastics from polypropylene black nonwoven textile at concentrations of 1 g/kg soil and 0.0265 g/kg soil for 14, 28, and 56 days. DNA was sequenced to identify bacteria from the earthworm gut, gut contents, and rearing soil. Additionally, untargeted analysis of metabolites from the earthworm body and extraction of immune cells from earthworms using three different methods were conducted. No significant changes caused by the presence of microplastics were found in the representation of bacteria from the gut, gut contents, and soil, but statistically significant changes in the metabolome were detected. A sufficient number of immune cells could not be isolated from the...