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Crystalline style-induced surface damage on textile polyester microfibers in a freshwater bivalve
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Researchers found that when freshwater mussels swallow tiny polyester fibers (a common type of microplastic from clothing), a hard structure in their gut called a crystalline style can actually grind up and damage those fibers before they're pooped out. This matters because it shows that microplastics don't just pass through animals unchanged — they can break down into even smaller pieces inside a living creature's body, potentially making them easier to spread through waterways and the food chain, including up to the foods we eat.
Photos: Textile polyester microplastics offered to freshwater bivalves in a bioaccumulation study. These photos show the depuration of the fibers found in the feces over the days.
More Papers Like This
Impact of Synthetic Microfibers on Cellular and Biochemical Biomarkers in Mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis
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Scientists found that tiny plastic fibers from clothing and fishing gear can harm mussels by damaging their cells and disrupting important body functions, even at pollution levels currently found in our oceans. This matters because mussels filter water and are eaten by humans, so plastic pollution that harms these shellfish could also affect the safety of seafood we consume. The study shows that microplastic pollution is already at levels that can damage marine life we depend on for food.
Bioaccumulation and depuration dynamics of polyester microfibres in Mytilus galloprovincialis
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Scientists tested how mussels—a popular seafood—absorb and get rid of tiny polyester fibers (like those shed from synthetic clothing) at different exposure levels, and found that higher exposure didn't necessarily mean more fibers stayed trapped in the mussels' bodies. Even more notably, the "clean" mussels used as a comparison group already had microplastic fibers in them before the experiment even started, showing just how widespread this contamination already is. This matters because it suggests eating mussels and other shellfish is a likely route for microplastics to enter our diets, even from seafood we assume is uncontaminated.
Impact of textile microfiber ingestion on the tissue integrity of the mangrove oyster Crassostrea gasar.
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Researchers exposed mangrove oysters to four textile microfiber types — including polyester and organic cotton — and found that polyester accumulated most heavily in the digestive gland, while all fiber types caused significant gill tissue atrophy, mucocyte proliferation, and histological lesions within 21 days, indicating that fiber composition and concentration both drive structural damage in bivalves.
Impact of polyester and cotton microfibers on growth and sublethal biomarkers in juvenile mussels
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Researchers exposed juvenile mussels to polyester and cotton microfibers at realistic ocean concentrations for 94 days and found that polyester microfibers reduced mussel growth rates by up to 36%, suggesting that microplastic fiber pollution could harm marine ecosystems and threaten shellfish aquaculture.
Effects of long-term exposure to microfibers on ecosystem services provided by coastal mussels
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Researchers examined the effects of long-term microfiber exposure on the biofiltration capacity of coastal mussels, investigating whether small microfibers (more common in nature than the larger microplastics studied previously) impair this important ecosystem service that helps mitigate coastal eutrophication.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.