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Effects of biodegradable-based microplastics in Paracentrotus lividus Lmk embryos: Morphological and gene expression analysis
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Researchers tested the effects of biodegradable microplastics (PLA and PBAT) on sea urchin embryo development and found they caused developmental abnormalities and altered gene expression. Even though these plastics are marketed as eco-friendly alternatives, their breakdown particles still harmed marine organisms during sensitive early life stages. This suggests that biodegradable plastics are not necessarily safe for the environment and may still contribute to microplastic toxicity in the food chain.
Plastic pollution is a remarkable environmental issue. In fact, plastic is widespread in the lifetime and serious environmental problems are caused by the improper management of plastic end of life, being plastic litter detected in any environment. Efforts are put to implement the development of sustainable and circular materials. In this scenario, biodegradable polymers, BPs, are promising materials if correctly applied and managed at the end of life to minimize environmental problems. However, a lack of data on BPs fate and toxicity on marine organisms, limits their applicability. In this research, the impact of microplastics obtained from BPs, BMPs, were analyzed on Paracentrotus lividus. Microplastics were produced from five biodegradable polyesters at laboratory scale by milling the pristine polymers, under cryogenic conditions. Morphological analysis of P. lividus embryos exposed to polycaprolactone (PCL), polyhydroxy butyrate (PHB) and polylactic acid (PLA) showed their delay and malformations, which at molecular level are due to variation in expression levels of eighty-seven genes involved in various cellular processes, such as skeletogenesis, differentiation and development, stress, and detoxification response. Exposure to poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA) microplastics showed no detectable effects on P. lividus embryos. These findings contribute with important data on the effect of BPs on the physiology of marine invertebrates.
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