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Effects of Commercially Available Plastics on Estuarine Sediment Dweller Polychaeta Hediste diversicolor
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Researchers exposed the marine worm Hediste diversicolor to commercially available polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate microplastics for up to 28 days and assessed behavioral and biochemical responses. They found that the worms did not show behavioral changes or metabolize the plastics, though some enzyme activity was affected. The study suggests that these common types of microplastics do not cause major adverse effects in this sediment-dwelling species at the tested concentrations.
Microplastics (MPs) are a major contaminant in aquatic environments. Due to their size, they are likely to cause deleterious effects. In this study, we assessed the effects of MPs obtained from two commercially available plastics (PP and PET) in the polychaeta Hediste diversicolor after different periods (4 and 28 days). Toxic effects were assessed by measuring burrowing and spontaneous activities, phase I (CYP1A1, 1A2, and 3A4) activities), conjugation metabolism (GSTs), and antioxidant defense (CAT). Behavioral traits and phase I activities were nonresponsive to the presence of both plastics and for the two durations of exposure, indicating that these organisms are not affected by exposure to MPs and do not metabolize them. Conjugation metabolism was inhibited, which may be explained by the MPs’ capability of inhibiting certain enzymes. CAT activity was increased in animals acutely exposed to PP and decreased in animals chronically exposed to PET. This study shows that PP- and PET-MPs do not cause adverse effects on H. diversicolor.
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