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The fate of microplastics during uptake and depuration phases in a blue mussel exposure system
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A controlled exposure system tracked the fate of polystyrene microplastic beads in blue mussels during uptake and depuration phases, showing that mussels accumulated beads in the digestive gland and that depuration cleared most but not all particles over 24 hours. The mass balance approach provides a rigorous method for quantifying microplastic retention in bivalves.
We present a blue mussel exposure system where the fate of microplastics (polystyrene beads) is tracked during exposure and depuration phases. This enabled the establishment of a complete mass balance. Quantification of beads in mussels was done with a novel enzymatic digestion protocol. We found a similar relative distribution of beads for 2 environmentally realistic concentrations (5 and 100 beads L-1 ) and no substantial egestion of particles within 2 h of depuration. Environ Toxicol Chem 2019;38:99-105. © 2018 SETAC.
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Insights into the uptake, elimination and accumulation of microplastics in mussel
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Researchers investigated how mussels take up, eliminate, and accumulate high-density polyethylene microplastics smaller than 22 micrometers. They found that mussels cleared microplastics at the same rate as similarly sized food particles, but smaller particles (under 6 micrometers) were retained much longer in the digestive gland. After six days of depuration, about 85 percent of ingested microplastics were eliminated, but 2 to 6 percent remained embedded in digestive tissue, indicating that small microplastics can accumulate in filter-feeding organisms.
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Researchers exposed blue mussels to low-density polyethylene microplastics at different concentrations for up to 56 days and found particles in gills, intestinal lumens, and digestive tissues. Mussels also expelled plastic particles in their pseudofeces, demonstrating both uptake and a partial clearance mechanism for microplastic exposure in filter feeders.
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Blue mussel larvae were exposed to 100 nm and 2 μm polystyrene beads and microplastics were found to remain inside larvae despite active egestion, with growth unaffected but the proportion of abnormally developed larvae increasing at the highest polystyrene concentration (282 μg/L). The findings suggest that early developmental stages of mussels can be harmed by microplastic exposure at concentrations relevant to polluted coastal areas.
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