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Influence of Microplastics on the Growth and the Intestinal Microbiota Composition of Brine Shrimp

Frontiers in Microbiology 2021 52 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 55 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Sitong Liu, Hongyu Li, Ping Zhang, Jiao Wang, Jiao Wang, Jiao Wang, Jiao Wang, Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Jiao Wang, Sitong Liu, Jiayao Li, Jiayao Li, Hongwei Chen, Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Jiao Wang, Xianhua Liu Jiao Wang, Sitong Liu, Jiayao Li, Jiao Wang, Sitong Liu, Xianhua Liu Jiao Wang, Xianhua Liu Jiayao Li, Hongyu Li, Jiao Wang, Jiayao Li, Xianhua Liu Jiayao Li, Xianhua Liu Jiayao Li, Jiao Wang, Jiao Wang, Ping Zhang, Ping Zhang, Ping Zhang, Zhiyun Wang, Jiayao Li, Yanping Zong, Yanping Zong, Yanping Zong, Jiayao Li, Yanping Zong, Yanping Zong, Jiao Wang, Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Sitong Liu, Xianhua Liu Sitong Liu, Xianhua Liu Jiayao Li, Xianhua Liu Ping Zhang, Sitong Liu, Jiayao Li, Yanping Zong, Xianhua Liu Jianbo Tu, Jianbo Tu, Jianbo Tu, Jianbo Tu, Sitong Liu, Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Jianbo Tu, Jiao Wang, Xianhua Liu Zhiyun Wang, Yanzhen Chen, Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Ping Zhang, Ping Zhang, Xianhua Liu Ping Zhang, Ping Zhang, Ping Zhang, Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Jianbo Tu, Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Yanping Zong, Jianbo Tu, Yanping Zong, Jianbo Tu, Jianbo Tu, Ping Zhang, Zhiyun Wang, Yanping Zong, Yanping Zong, Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Yanping Zong, Yanping Zong, Ping Zhang, Zhiyun Wang, Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu Xianhua Liu

Summary

Researchers exposed brine shrimp to polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics and found that both types significantly reduced growth rates, with body length decreasing by 15-18%. The study also revealed that microplastic ingestion altered the gut microbiota composition, increasing microbial diversity and shifting the balance of key bacterial groups in the shrimp intestines.

Polymers

PE PS

Models

Invertebrate other

Study Type Environmental

Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous in the aquatic environment and can be frequently ingested by zooplankton, leading to various effects. Brine shrimp (Artemia parthenogenetica) has an important role in the energy flow through trophic levels in different seawater systems. In this work, the influence of polyethylene (PE) and polystyrene (PS) MPs on the growth of brine shrimp and corresponding changes of gut microbiota were investigated. Our results showed that the MPs remarkably reduced the growth rate of brine shrimp, and the two types of MPs have different impacts. The average body length of brine shrimps was reduced by 17.92 and 14.95% in the PE group and PS group, respectively. MPs are mainly found in the intestine, and their exposure evidently affects the gut microbiota. By using 16S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing, 32 phyla of bacteria were detected in the intestine, and the microbiome consisted mainly of Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria. MPs' exposure significantly increased the gut microbial diversity. For the PE group, the proportion of Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes increased by 45.26 and 2.73%, respectively. For the PS group, it was 54.95 and 1.27%, respectively. According to the analysis on genus level, the proportions of Ponticoccus, Seohaeicola, Polycyclovorans, and Methylophaga decreased by 46.38, 1.24, 1.07, and 2.66%, respectively, for the PE group and 57.87, 1.43, 0.88, and 2.24%, respectively, for the PS group. In contrast, the proportions of Stappia, Microbacterium, and Dietzia increased by 1.12, 23.27, and 11.59%, respectively, for the PE group, and 1.09, 3.79, and 42.96%, respectively, for the PS group. These experimental results demonstrated that the ingestion of MPs by brine shrimp can alter the composition of the gut microbiota and lead to a slow growth rate. This study provides preliminary data support for understanding the biotoxicity of MPs to invertebrate zooplankton and is conducive to the further risk assessment of MP exposure.

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