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Influence of Nano- and Small Microplastics on Ciliated Protozoan Spirostomum ambiguum (Müller, 1786) Ehrenberg, 1835
Summary
This study tested how nano- and small microplastic particles from household materials affect the protozoan Spirostomum ambiguum, a ciliated microorganism used in ecotoxicology. The protozoan ingested plastic particles, with behavior depending on particle size and whether edible food particles were present. The study contributes to understanding how microplastics move through microbial food webs at the base of aquatic ecosystems.
This study evaluated the uptake of secondary nano- and small microparticles by the protozoan Spirostomum ambiguum, comparing edible (baker’s yeasts) and inedible (red latex) particles. Secondary nano- and microplastic particles were prepared from household materials made of four different polymers and served to the protozoans separately and as two-component mixtures in different proportions. The number and content of food vacuoles formed by the protozoan were analyzed using a digital microscope. The microscopic results showed that the protozoans ingested the secondary microplastic particles to a similar degree as the latex microspheres but to a lesser extent compared to the nutritional food—baker’s yeasts. At the microplastic concentrations of 1000 and 10,000 particles mL−1, no food vacuoles were observed inside the cells, which may be a finding of great ecological importance. In the protozoans served two-component mixtures, both microplastics and yeasts were found in the vacuoles formed by the organisms. The egestion of two-component vacuoles by the protozoans was slower than that of vacuoles containing a single component.