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Photoaging Elevated the Genotoxicity of Polystyrene Microplastics to Marine Mussel Mytilus trossulus (Gould, 1850)
Summary
Researchers found that sunlight-aged polystyrene microplastics caused more DNA damage in marine mussels than fresh, unweathered microplastics. The UV-degraded particles disrupted cell metabolism and destabilized protective cell membranes more severely. This is important because most microplastics in the ocean have been weathered by sunlight, meaning real-world exposure may be more harmful than what many lab studies using pristine plastics suggest.
Micro-sized particles of synthetic polymers (microplastics) are found in all parts of marine ecosystems. This fact requires intensive study of the degree of danger of such particles to the life activity of hydrobionts and needs additional research. It is evident that hydrobionts in the marine environment are exposed to microplastics modified by biotic and abiotic degradation. To assess the toxic potential of aging microplastic, comparative studies were conducted on the response of cytochemical and genotoxic markers in hemocytes of the mussel Mytilus trossulus (Gould, 1850) after exposure to pristine and photodegraded (UV irradiation) polystyrene microparticles (µPS). The results of cytochemical tests showed that UV-irradiated µPS strongly reduced metabolism and destabilized lysosome membranes compared to pristine µPS. Using a Comet assay, it was shown that the nuclear DNA of mussel hemocytes showed high sensitivity to exposure to both types of plastics. However, the level of DNA damage was significantly higher in mussels exposed to aging µPS. It is suggested that the mechanism of increased toxicity of photo-oxidized µPS is based on free-radical reactions induced by the UV irradiation of polymers. The risks of toxic effects will be determined by the level of physicochemical degradation of the polymer, which can significantly affect the mechanisms of toxicity.
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