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Changes in dysbiosis and gene expression in the gut of wharf roach (Ligia spp.) fed with expanded polystyrene.
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Scientists fed tiny beach creatures called wharf roaches bits of foam packaging (polystyrene) to see how it affects their gut health, since these roaches are known to eat a lot of plastic pollution washed up on shores. The animals' gut bacteria stayed mostly normal, but their bodies ramped up production of detox enzymes, similar to how our liver processes toxins, suggesting the gut recognized the plastic as something to break down or flush out. While this is a small study in a shoreline critter (not humans), it offers early clues about how ingesting microplastics might trigger detox responses in animal digestive systems.
The East Asian region, with its intensive human and fishery activity, suffers from serious marine plastic pollution along its coastlines. Wharf roaches (Ligia spp.) on the coast of western Japan frequently ingest expanded polystyrene (EPS) and excrete it as microplastic in their feces, yet the effects on their gut remain unclear. Under controlled laboratory exposure, we examined both the host gut transcriptome, and the gut microbiome of wharf roaches fed EPS versus a fasted control group. DESeq2 and PyDESeq2 yielded a high-confidence set of 25 differentially expressed genes, among which xenobiotic-metabolism enzymes-a cytochrome P450, a UDP-glucuronosyltransferase, and a sulfotransferase-were up-regulated in the EPS-fed group. In contrast, the overall gut microbial community structure was unchanged: neither alpha nor beta diversity differed significantly between groups in any domain. At the taxon level, a few low-abundance archaeal and viral taxa, including the archaea Methanospirillum, Halalkalicoccus, and Desulfurococcus, and T4-like viruses, were detected in all EPS samples but were below the detection limit in all controls. Because the comparison used a fasted control, the extent to which these responses are specific to EPS exposure remains to be established. Building on previous field studies identifying wharf roaches as bioindicators of coastal EPS pollution, this study highlights the wharf roach as a tractable model for investigating the gut-level effects of plastic ingestion.
More Papers Like This
Changes in dysbiosis and gene expression in the gut of wharf roach (Ligia Spp.) fed with expanded polystyrene
AI summary Read the abstract
This study investigated the effects of expanded polystyrene (EPS) ingestion on the gut microbiota and gene expression of wharf roaches (Ligia spp.) from Japan's western coast, finding alterations in over 400 genes and significant increases in archaea, viruses, and methanogens. Results suggest EPS disrupts the intestinal environment of wharf roaches and may activate viruses and promote methane production, with wharf roaches proposed as indicators of coastal EPS pollution.
The effects of environmental Microplastic on wharf roach (Ligia exotica): A Multi-Omics approach
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Wild wharf roaches collected from a microplastic-contaminated South Korean shoreline had 50 times more plastic particles in their guts than roaches from a cleaner site, and the contaminated animals also carried elevated levels of brominated flame retardants leached from the polystyrene foam they had ingested. Gene expression analysis revealed that the contaminated roaches showed altered immune, metabolic, and stress-response pathways. Because wharf roaches are a key detritus-consuming species in coastal ecosystems, this study demonstrates that microplastic pollution can have cascading biological effects from the base of the food web.
Fragmentation of expanded polystyrene to microplastics by wharf roach Ligia spp.
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Researchers discovered that wharf roaches, common coastal crustaceans found throughout the Pacific region, actively graze on expanded polystyrene and fragment it into microplastics as small as 2 micrometers. In field surveys along Japanese coastlines, these animals were found to ingest polystyrene more frequently than other types of plastic. The study reveals a previously unrecognized biological pathway by which large plastic debris gets broken down into microplastics in coastal environments.
Polystyrene-degrading bacteria modulate host stress and toxicity responses to microplastic exposure in Caenorhabditis elegans
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Scientists studied how gut bacteria affect the health impacts of microplastics (tiny plastic particles) using lab worms as a model. They found that different types of plastic-eating bacteria in the gut can either make microplastic exposure more harmful or help protect against it. This research suggests that the specific mix of bacteria in our intestines might influence how dangerous microplastics are to our health.
Gut Microbiota Mediates Host Responses to Microplastic Exposure in Artemia salina
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Scientists found that when tiny brine shrimp ate microplastics, it hurt their growth, weakened their immune systems, and threw their gut bacteria out of balance—but one specific gut bacterium helped counteract the damage. While this study was done in shrimp, not humans, it hints that the trillions of bacteria living in our own guts might play a similar protective role when we're exposed to microplastics, which are increasingly found in our food and water.
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