Transcriptomic analysis following polystyrene nanoplastic stress in the Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei

Plastics are widely produced for industrial and domestic applications due to their unique properties, and studies on the toxic effects of nanoplastics (NPs) on aquatic animals are essential. In this study, we investigated the transcriptomic patterns of Litopenaeus vannamei after NPs exposure. We found that the lysosome pathway was activated when after NPs exposure, with up-regulated DEGs, including glucocerebrosidase (GBA), hexosaminidase A (HEXA), sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase-1 (SMPD1), and solute carrier family 17 member 5 (SLC17A5). In addition, the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway was strongly affected by NPs, and the upstream genes of PI3K-Akt, including epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), integrin subunit beta 1 (ITGB1) and heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) were up-regulation. Other genes involved in lipogenesis, such as sterol regulatory element binding transcription factor 1 (SREBP-1c), fatty acid synthase (FASN) and stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD-1), were down-regulated. However, the contents of triglycerides (TG) and total cholesterol (TCH) in L. vanname hepatopancreas were reduced, which indicated that the ingestion of NPs led to the disturbance of hepatic lipid metabolism. What more, NPs treatment of L. vannamei also caused oxidative stress. In addition, NPs can damage part of the tissue structure and affect the physiological function of shrimps. The results of this study provide valuable ecotoxicological data to improve the understanding of the biological fate and effects of nanoplastics in L. vannamei.