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Accumulation of polyethylene microplastics induces oxidative stress, microbiome dysbiosis and immunoregulation in crayfish
Summary
Researchers exposed crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) to polyethylene microplastics through their diet for 21 days and found that particles accumulated in the intestine, hepatopancreas, gills, and blood, persisting even after a week of depuration in clean water. The accumulated microplastics caused oxidative stress, disrupted the gut microbiome, and altered immune regulation. The study suggests that microplastic exposure may compromise the health and immune defenses of commercially important freshwater crustaceans.
Microplastics have become a worldwide pollutant, widely discovered in soil, air and aquatic environment. Microplastics have been found in habitats where crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) cultivated, but the impact of microplastics on crayfish remains unclear. In this study, after 21-day dietary exposure, polyethylene (PE) particles were found to accumulate in intestine, hepatopancreas, gills and hemolymph of crayfish. Furthermore, PE particles can still be detected in these tissues after a 7-day depuration in clean water. PE retained in these tissues caused oxidative stress responses, as indicated by the change of oxidative-stress-related index, such as the increase of HO level and SOD activity. PE exposure also caused hemocytic encapsulation in crayfish hepatopancreas and increase of mucus secretion in intestine. Moreover, PE exposure affected the microbiota balance in crayfish, by reducing the total microbiota abundance and altering the proportions of many bacterial families. Interestingly, results showed that PE exposure led to of lower numbers of hemocytes and declination of phenoloxidase activity. Finally, PE exposure induced the expression of immune-related genes, including transcription factors and antimicrobial peptides. Taken these together, we conclude that PE microplastics exert considerable toxic effects on crayfish and are a potential threat to crayfish aquaculture and consumption. This study provides basic toxicological data toward quantifying and illuminating the impact of PE microplastics on freshwater animals.