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Size-dependent effects of polystyrene microplastics on gut metagenome and antibiotic resistance in C57BL/6 mice
Summary
Researchers investigated how the size of polystyrene microplastics affects gut microbiome composition and function in mice. The study found that smaller microplastic particles (0.05-0.1 micrometers) had a significantly greater impact on both bacterial and fungal gut communities, as well as metabolic pathways, compared to larger particles (9-10 micrometers). These results suggest that size-dependent effects are an important factor to consider when assessing the health risks of microplastic exposure.
Microplastic pollution is an emerging threat for marine and terrestrial ecosystems, which has raised global concerns about its implications for human health. Mounting evidence has shown that the gut microbiota plays a key role in human health and diseases. The gut bacteria could be disturbed by many environmental factors, including the microplastic particles. However, the size effect of polystyrene microplastics on mycobiome, as well as gut functional metagenome has not been well studied. In this study, we performed ITS sequencing to explore the size effect of polystyrene microplastics on the fungal composition, in combination with the shotgun metagenomics sequencing to reveal the size effects of polystyrene on the functional metagenome. We found that polystyrene microplastic particles with 0.05-0.1 µm diameter showed greater impact on the bacterial and fungal composition of gut microbiota as well as the metabolic pathways than the polystyrene microplastic particles with 9-10 µm diameter. Our results suggested that size-depended effects should not be ignored in the health risk assessment of microplastics.
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