Mechanism of Growth Phase-Dependent Nanoplastic Bioaccumulation in Tetrahymena thermophila

Nanoplastics are ubiquitous in aquatic environments, and elucidating their bioaccumulation behavior is essential for assessing toxicity and trophic transfer risks. While most studies focus on nanoplastics properties (e.g., type, size, surface charge), the influence of organismal growth stage remains unclear. Through bioaccumulation kinetic experiments with 10 mg/L polystyrene nanoplastics (PSNPs), this study found that Tetrahymena thermophila (T. thermophila) in the lag phase (cell density 4 × 104 cells/mL) exhibited the highest uptake rate of nanoplastics, 1.2-5.8 times that of the exponential phase (1-5 × 105 cells/mL) and 7.7 times that of the stationary phase (>5 × 105 cells/mL). Lag phase cells also had a larger specific surface area (0.319 vs. 0.271/0.269 μm-1), supporting their heightened uptake capacity. Under PSNP exposure, exponential and stationary phase cells showed significantly elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, accompanied by downregulated superoxide dismutase (SOD) and stable catalase (CAT) activity, indicating impaired antioxidant defense and potential redirection of energy toward stress mitigation. Consistent with efficient internalization, confocal imaging revealed clear PSNP colocalization within food vacuoles of lag period cells. Proteomic and transcriptomic analysis further confirmed the upregulation of carrier proteins, FAD/FMN oxidoreductases, and pathways associated with cellular components (membrane and organelle membrane) and molecular functions (transporter activity and transmembrane transporter activity) in lag-phase T. thermophila. Collectively, these findings provide a molecular-level understanding of the multi-phase-dependent bioaccumulation of PSNPs, offering critical insights for assessing the environmental risks of polystyrene nanoplastics in dynamic aquatic ecosystems.