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Impact of Microbial Colonization of Polystyrene Microbeads on the Toxicological Responses in the Sea Urchin Paracentrotus lividus.
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Sea urchins were more likely to internalize polystyrene microbeads coated with a bacterial biofilm than clean beads, suggesting that the ecological corona of microorganisms on plastic surfaces plays a role in how organisms interact with plastic particles. This finding helps explain how microplastics in the ocean are taken up by marine invertebrates and how the plastisphere changes the ecological risks of plastic pollution.
The sea urchin was exposed to either virgin or biofilm-covered polystyrene microbeads (micro-PS, 45 μm) in order to test the effect of microbial colonization on the uptake, biodistribution, and immune response. The biofilm was dominated by bacteria, as detected by scanning electron microscopy and 16S rRNA sequencing. A higher internalization rate of colonized micro-PS inside sea urchins compared to virgin ones was detected, suggesting a role of the plastisphere in the interaction. Colonized and virgin micro-PS showed the same biodistribution pattern by accumulating mainly in the digestive system with higher levels and faster egestion rates for the colonized. However, a significant increase of catalase and total antioxidant activity was observed only in the digestive system of colonized micro-PS-exposed individuals. Colonized micro-PS also induced a significant decrease in the number of coelomocytes with a significant increase in vibratile cells, compared to control and virgin micro-PS-exposed animals. Moreover, a general time-dependent increase in the red/white amoebocytes ratio and reactive oxygen species and a decrease in nitrogen ones were observed upon exposure to both colonized and virgin micro-PS. Overall, micro-PS colonization clearly affected the uptake and toxicological responses of the Mediterranean sea urchin in comparison to virgin micro-PS.
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