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Transcriptomic responses in Daphnia magna exposed to PLA, PBAT, and PET microplastics: Insights into different molecular toxicity pathways.
Summary
Scientists exposed tiny water creatures called Daphnia (a key part of the freshwater food chain) to three common types of microplastics, including materials marketed as "biodegradable" alternatives like PLA and PBAT. They found that each plastic type triggered its own unique pattern of stress at the genetic level—affecting things like energy use, oxygen processing, and immune defenses—showing that not all microplastics harm organisms in the same way. This matters because it suggests that switching to "eco-friendly" plastics doesn't necessarily mean switching to harmless ones, and understanding these different biological effects could help us better assess
Microplastics are increasingly recognized as persistent pollution in freshwater ecosystems, yet their early molecular mechanism on aquatic invertebrates remains poorly characterized. In this study, we investigated the acute transcriptomic response of Daphnia magna following a 70-hour exposure to three microplastic types: polylactic acid (PLA), polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Despite relatively modest numbers of differentially expressed genes, clear polymer-dependent and shared responses emerged. All three microplastics elicited a common core signature involving modulation of lipid transport, extracellular structural components, and amino acid metabolic processes, suggesting modulation of pathways linked to metabolic functions. Polymer-specific responses were also evident. Polylactic acid and PBAT jointly affected tetrapyrrole and heme biosynthetic processes, indicating potential influence on oxygen-related metabolism, while PBAT and PET shared suppression of cuticle-associated genes, consistent with modulation of structural maintenance pathways. Polylactic acid additionally affected circadian and oxidative stress-related processes, whereas PET modulated immune-related signalling, including toll-like receptor pathways. These findings demonstrate that polymer type influences distinct biological processes in D. magna, highlighting the importance of polymer chemistry in shaping organismal responses to microplastic exposure. This study also accentuates the value of transcriptomic profiling for identifying pathway-level responses that may not be captured by conventional endpoints.