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Mechanism of palmelloid formation induced by polystyrene nanoplastics in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: a multi-omics analysis
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Researchers found that nanoplastics trigger freshwater algae to clump into multicellular colonies by disrupting cell membranes and triggering oxidative stress, altering the base of aquatic food webs in ways that could cascade through ecosystems that humans depend on for food and clean water.
The rising accumulation of nanoplastics (NPs) poses adverse effect on primary productivity in multiple ways, ultimately reshaping freshwater food webs. The transition from unicellular to multicellular structures known as palmelloid is induced by many stressors in motile microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, while the intrinsic mechanism was not fully understood. Here, we provided evidence for the palmelloid formation in C. reinhardtii induced by NPs. Results show that 50-mg/L NPs exposure significantly promoted palmelloid percentage from 4.85% to 44.87%, whereas the curvilinear velocity of C. reinhardtii reduced by 27.59%. The significant increase of 125.36% in extracellular proteins and 44.43% in polysaccharides levels were attributed to the palmelloid formation under the exposure to 50-mg/L NPs. Moreover, NPs disrupted energy metabolism, leading to a 52.98% increase in uridine diphosphate glucose levels, a crucial precursor for polysaccharide synthesis using targeted metabolomic analysis. Furthermore, transcriptomic analysis revealed a substantial upregulation of genes involved in N-glycan biosynthesis and ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter function, suggesting their pivotal roles in polysaccharide production and translocation processes within C. reinhardtii under NPs stress. In conclusion, NPs could induce palmelloid formation in C. reinhardtii, and further reduced the primary food sources.
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Unveiling the molecular mechanisms of size-dependent effect of polystyrene micro/nano-plastics on Chlamydomonas reinhardtii through proteomic profiling
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Researchers used proteomic profiling to uncover the molecular mechanisms behind how different sizes of polystyrene micro- and nanoplastics affect the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. They found that particle size plays a critical role in determining the type and severity of biological responses in the algae. The study suggests that nanoscale plastic particles may pose distinct ecological risks compared to larger microplastics due to their ability to trigger different cellular stress pathways.
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Exposure to polystyrene microbeads caused significant declines in biomass, pigments, protein, and carbohydrates in two marine diatom species over 30 days, while also triggering surface changes in the plastic suggesting early-stage biodegradation by the diatoms. Because diatoms form the base of marine food webs and drive ocean carbon fixation, microplastic-induced suppression of their growth has cascading implications for ocean ecosystem productivity.
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