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Effects of subchronic exposure to PFOA and nanoplastics on the gills of Eriocheir sinensis: Perspectives from the transcriptome, microbiome and physiology
Summary
Researchers exposed Chinese mitten crabs (Eriocheir sinensis) to PFOA and nanoplastics for 28 days and used transcriptomic, metabolomic, and microbiomic analyses to show that both pollutants damage gill tissue through oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, and disruption of lipid metabolism, with combined exposure also reshaping the gill microbial community.
PFOA and NPs are recognized as persistent organic pollutants with potential ecological risks in aquatic ecosystems, and they exhibit specific toxic effects on benthic invertebrates. As a vital respiratory organ of aquatic animals, the gill plays a key role in gas exchange and osmoregulation. However, studies on the potential adverse impacts of these two pollutants on the gill tissue remain scarce. In the present study, we conducted a 28-day stress experiment with the Eriocheir sinensis as a research model and systematically investigated the toxic effects of PFOA/NPs on gill organs by multi-omics sequencing. At the biochemical level, PFOA/NPs inhibited the activity and transcription of antioxidant enzymes (CAT, T-SOD, and GSH) or genes (gpx, gstd7), while triggering oxidative stress (MDA) and causing morphological damage. Moreover, PFOA/NPs induced inflammation (TNF-α, hil-6), apoptosis, autophagy (bnip3, stk17a, lc3a, epg5), suppression of immune responses (fcn, lyz), and disruption of glycolipid metabolism (fasn, acsl14, srebf1, acsly). In addition, the PFOA-NPs co-exposure disrupted the microbial flora structure in gill tissues, including reduced community evenness, increased dominance of specific species, and heightened abundances of both environmental organic pollutant-degrading microbes and opportunistic pathogens (Acidovorax, Sphaerotilus, Candidatus_Bacilloplasma). Furthermore, PFOA-NPs may disrupt microbial physiological homeostasis by suppressing the "LPS biosynthesis-antibiotic production-GAG degradation-lysosomal function" axis. These findings indicate that the gill organs of aquatic crustaceans are highly sensitive to organic pollutants such as PFOA and NPs, and long-term exposure disrupts their tissue physiology and microbial community homeostasis, thereby providing critical data to support the ecotoxicological assessment of PFOA/NPs in aquatic ecosystems.
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