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Virgin Polystyrene Microparticles Exposure Leads to Changes in Gills DNA and Physical Condition in the Mediterranean Mussel Mytilus Galloprovincialis
Summary
Researchers exposed Mediterranean mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) to virgin polystyrene microparticles and found significant DNA damage in gill tissue and reduced physical condition, suggesting that even virgin microplastics pose a genotoxic risk to marine filter feeders.
The ever-growing concentration of microplastics in the marine environment is leading to a plethora of questions regarding marine organisms' present and future health status. In this article, the Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis), a commercial species distributed worldwide, has been exposed to 21 daily doses of polystyrene microparticles (10 µm) at four different concentrations that are environmentally realistic (control: no microplastics, C1: 0.02 mg/L, C2: 0.2 mg/L, and C3: 2 mg/L). The physical status through the condition index, and damages in DNA integrity in gills, through DNA fragmentation, were determined. Results showed a minor effect on DNA integrity but a worse physical status at higher doses. Results could be interpreted as a decrease in mussel feeding activity/filtration rates when exposed to high microplastic concentrations, thus reducing the direct exposure to microplastics in gills. These effects could be happening currently and/or may happen in the near future, threatening populations inhabiting microplastics-polluted environments.