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The toxic effects of polystyrene microplastics on freshwater algae Chlorella pyrenoidosa depends on the different size of polystyrene microplastics

Chemosphere 2022 90 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 60 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Qingsheng Cao, Hui Yang Hui Yang Hui Yang Hui Yang Yingying Zhang, Yingying Zhang, Yingying Zhang, Yingying Zhang, Yingying Zhang, Yinan Jiang, Qingsheng Cao, Yinan Jiang, Wenbo Sun, Tian Yang, Wenbo Sun, Hui Yang Zhu Zhu, Hui Yang Yinan Jiang, Yinan Jiang, Hui Yang Wenzhi Wei, Hui Yang Yingying Zhang, Yingying Zhang, Hui Yang Hui Yang Hui Yang Yingying Zhang, Wenlong Hu, Yingying Zhang, Yingying Zhang, Hui Yang Yingying Zhang, Wenzhi Wei, Yingying Zhang, Hui Yang

Summary

Researchers tested how two sizes of polystyrene microplastics affect the freshwater alga Chlorella pyrenoidosa, an important organism at the base of aquatic food webs. They found that smaller microplastics caused more severe damage to algal growth, photosynthesis, and cellular health than larger ones, with effects worsening over time and at higher concentrations. The study demonstrates that microplastic size is a critical factor determining toxicity to aquatic phytoplankton.

Polymers

Study Type Environmental

Microplastics (MPs) are persistent environmental contaminants. The toxic effects of MPs on aquatic organisms have raised increasing concerns, but their toxic effects on aquatic phytoplankton has not been thoroughly investigated. In the present study, the toxic effects of two sizes MPs (1 μm and 5 μm) on Chlorella pyrenoidosa at 2, 10, 50 mg/L were explored for 1, 5, 10 days. The growth ratio, photosynthetic pigments content, extracellular polymeric substances content, soluble protein content, MDA content and relative expression of genes related to photosynthesis and energy metabolism were measured. These results indicated that 1 μm MP could significantly inhibit the growth of C. pyrenoidosa. Compared with the control group, 1 μm MP significantly reduced the photosynthetic pigment content, induced oxidative stress and disrupted the cell membrane integrity of C. pyrenoidosa. At the molecular level, 1 μm MP altered the transcript levels of genes related to photosynthesis and energy metabolism. Scanning electron microscopy and fluorescent images showed that MPs aggregation with C. pyrenoidosa may be the main reason for the toxic effects of MPs. These results will provide new insight into the toxicity of different MPs on aquatic phytoplankton, and evaluate the risks caused by MPs in aquatic environments.

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