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Physiological effects of plastic particles on mussels are mediated by food presence
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Thick shell mussels exposed to polystyrene nanoplastics (70 nm) and microplastics (10 µm) with and without microalgae food found that food presence mediated the physiological effects — microplastics reduced energy budget and increased oxidative stress markers most strongly when food was mixed with particles.
Plastic particles cause toxic effects on marine organisms but whether food particles can affect the toxic effects of plastic particles on filter feeding animals remains unknown. To evaluate the intake and physiological effects of different size particles and their exposure ways, the thick shell mussels Mytilus coruscus were exposed to polystyrene (PS) nanoplastics (NPs, 70 nm) and microplastics (MPs, 10 µm) respectively for two weeks by mixing NPs/MPs with microalgae or exposed to MNPs individually after feeding. Intake of particles and their physiological effects including energy budget, digestive enzymes and oxidative responses were assessed after exposure. Results indicated food presence mediate the effects while MPs decrease the energy budget and increase the catalase activity and malondialdehyde levels. Moreover, exposure way significantly affected energy budget and size of particle had a significant impact on enzyme activities. Our results showed MPs induce more significant effects than NPs on mussels, emphasized the importance of particle exposure way and suggested that mixture exposure with microalgae alleviate the influences on mussels caused by plastic particles alone. This study emphasized that we need to take the food particles into account for evaluating the toxic effects of plastic particles on filter feeding animals in the natural environment.
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Scientists fed tiny plastic particles (nanoplastics) to mussels through their food to see if it caused health problems, since mussels are good indicators of ocean health and people eat them. The plastic particles did cause some tissue damage and inflammation in the mussels, but other factors like reproductive cycles and parasites had bigger effects on their health. This suggests that short-term exposure to small amounts of nanoplastics may not be as harmful as previously thought, though longer studies are still needed to understand the risks to both marine life and humans who eat seafood.
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