Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Effects of Virgin Microplastics on Growth, Intestinal Morphology and Microbiota on Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides)

Researchers found that exposure to virgin microplastics at environmentally relevant concentrations impaired growth, caused intestinal morphological damage, and altered gut microbiota composition in largemouth bass, suggesting that microplastic ingestion poses health risks in commercially important aquaculture species.

2021 Applied Sciences 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastics in our water: Fish microbiomes at risk?

This review examined how microplastics and leached plasticizers affect the gut microbiomes of freshwater and marine fish, summarizing evidence for dysbiosis and reduced microbial diversity and discussing potential consequences for fish immunity, metabolism, and environmental fitness.

2021 Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part D Genomics and Proteomics 25 citations
Article Tier 2

The Characteristics of Intestinal Bacterial Community in Three Omnivorous Fishes and Their Interaction with Microbiota from Habitats

This study examined the gut bacterial communities of three omnivorous fish species in artificial fishery habitats, comparing them to bacteria in the surrounding water and sediment. Fish gut microbiomes partially reflected the environmental microbiota, suggesting habitat quality affects fish gut health. This is relevant to microplastics because microplastics alter both aquatic microbial communities and fish gut microbiomes.

2021 Microorganisms 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Characteristics of microplastic pollution in golden pompano (Trachinotus ovatus) aquaculture areas and the relationship between colonized-microbiota on microplastics and intestinal microflora

Researchers found that microplastics in golden pompano aquaculture areas colonize with distinct microbial communities that overlap with the fish's gut microbiota, increasing Proteobacteria and decreasing Firmicutes in the intestinal flora of fish living in more contaminated estuarine settings.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of polypropylene microplastics and chemical pollutants on European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) gut microbiota and health

Researchers investigated how polypropylene microplastics, alone and combined with chemical pollutants, affect the gut health and microbiome of European sea bass. They found that microplastic ingestion altered the gut microbial community composition and that combined exposure with pollutants amplified the harmful effects. The study suggests that microplastics may serve as carriers for toxic chemicals, compounding their impact on fish health and potentially affecting seafood safety.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 119 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Exposure Across Trophic Levels: Effects on the Host Microbiota of Freshwater Organisms

Researchers investigated how microplastic exposure affects the gut bacteria communities of freshwater organisms including fish, invertebrates, and crustaceans. Microplastics—particularly when combined with pesticides—altered gut microbiota composition, which could impair digestion, immunity, and overall health of freshwater species.

2021 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Change the Food Utilization of Filter-Feeding Fish via Gut Microbiota

Researchers found that microplastic exposure changed the food utilization patterns of filter-feeding silver carp by altering their gut microbiota. After exposure, the fish shifted from primarily consuming phytoplankton to greater utilization of zooplankton, driven by microplastic-induced changes in gut bacterial communities that affected digestive enzyme gene expression, suggesting microplastics can disrupt aquatic food web dynamics.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Multi-omics association pattern between gut microbiota and host metabolism of a filter-feeding fish in situ exposed to microplastics

Scientists exposed filter-feeding fish to environmentally realistic levels of microplastics and found that the particles reshaped gut bacteria communities, which in turn altered the fish's liver metabolism through changes in amino acid processing. This gut-microbiome-to-organ connection matters because it shows microplastics may affect human health not just through direct toxicity but by disrupting the beneficial bacteria in our digestive systems.

2025 Environment International 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene microplastics induce gut microbiome and metabolome changes in Javanese medaka fish (Oryzias javanicus Bleeker, 1854)

Researchers found that polystyrene microplastic exposure altered gut microbiome composition and metabolic profiles in Javanese medaka fish, with effects on amino acid and lipid metabolism pathways suggesting microplastics can disrupt gut health in aquatic organisms.

2022 Toxicology Reports 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic exposure across trophic levels: effects on the host–microbiota of freshwater organisms

Researchers examined how microplastic exposure across trophic levels affects the gut microbiota of freshwater organisms, finding that microplastics alter microbial community composition and that effects can transfer through food web interactions.

2022 Environmental Microbiome 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on trophic parameters, abundance and metabolic activities of seawater and fish gut bacteria in mesocosm conditions

Mesocosm experiments showed that microplastics altered bacterial community structure and metabolic activity in both seawater and fish guts, suggesting that plastic pollution can disrupt microbial ecosystems in the marine environment. The findings raise concerns about how microplastic-driven microbiome changes could affect fish health and broader ecosystem functioning.

2018 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 61 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of polystyrene nanoplastics on oxidative stress, histopathology and intestinal microbiota in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)

Researchers exposed largemouth bass — a commercially important freshwater fish — to polystyrene nanoplastics (tiny plastic particles 100 nanometers in size) for up to 19 days, finding tissue damage in the gills, liver, and intestines along with elevated markers of cellular stress. While growth was not significantly affected, the fish adjusted their gut microbiome in response, suggesting nanoplastics trigger adaptive but potentially harmful physiological changes.

2022 Aquaculture Reports 42 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Changethe Food Utilization of Filter-FeedingFish via Gut Microbiota

Silver carp exposed to microplastics showed a shift in food utilization — increasing zooplankton assimilation from 28% to 40% while decreasing phytoplankton utilization — mediated by changes in gut microbiota, suggesting MPs alter how filter-feeding fish process their food.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as an aquatic pollutant affect gut microbiota within aquatic animals

This review examined how microplastics affect the gut microbiota of aquatic animals, analyzing the roles of plastic-associated chemicals and biofilms in disrupting microbial communities from ingestion through physiological impacts.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 109 citations
Article Tier 2

A fishy gut feeling – current knowledge on gut microbiota in teleosts

This review summarizes what scientists know about the community of bacteria living in fish guts and how diet, environmental conditions, and pollutants shape that community. Microplastics and other pollutants can disrupt the gut microbiome in fish, harming their immune function and overall health. Since fish are a major food source for humans, understanding these effects matters for food safety.

2025 Frontiers in Marine Science 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Ingested Microplastics Can Act as Microbial Vectors of Ichthyofauna

Nylon strips ingested and excreted by wild fish were found to harbor adherent microbiota including potential pathogens, demonstrating that microplastics can vector microorganisms through fish gut passage and into aquatic environments.

2024 Microbiology Research 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of environmental factors on host-microbiota interactions in the guts of aquatic organisms: A review

This review synthesizes how environmental stressors — including microplastics, heavy metals, photoperiod, and aquaculture feed additives — alter gut microbiota in fish and aquatic invertebrates, identifying common patterns of microbial disruption and compromised gut barrier integrity.

2025 Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C Toxicology & Pharmacology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Novel Autochthonous Strains from Cyprinus carpio as Candidates for Probiotic Use and Microplastic-Degrading Properties

Researchers isolated six bacterial genera from the gut of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and identified two novel Hafnia strains with both probiotic potential and microplastic-degrading properties, suggesting a dual role for gut bacteria in fish health and environmental bioremediation.

2025 Meat Technology
Article Tier 2

Dietary rayon microfibers differentially reshape rearing water and host associated microbiomes of farmed European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)

Researchers found that feeding European sea bass rayon microfibers — a type of textile microplastic — disrupted the bacteria living in the fish's gut and in the surrounding water in a dose-dependent way. This shows that microplastic ingestion can alter the microbial communities of farmed fish, with potential implications for aquaculture health and food safety.

2026 Environmental Microbiome
Article Tier 2

The effect of planktivorous fish (juvenile Perca fluviatilis) on the taxonomic diversity of microplastic particles-colonized bacterial community

Researchers tested whether the presence of perch (a common freshwater fish) affects the bacterial communities colonizing microplastic particles in water. Fish exudates — waste products released into the water — significantly increased the abundance and diversity of bacteria growing on both polyethylene and polystyrene surfaces, which could eventually accelerate microbial degradation of the plastics. This has implications for understanding the long-term fate of microplastics in natural lake and river environments where fish and plastic debris coexist.

2023 The European Zoological Journal 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Gut microbiota of aquatic organisms: A key endpoint for ecotoxicological studies

This review examines how environmental contaminants including microplastics, pesticides, heavy metals, and pharmaceuticals affect the gut microbiota of aquatic organisms. Researchers highlight that changes in gut bacterial communities can serve as sensitive indicators of pollution exposure and may have downstream effects on host fitness. The study calls for improved methodologies to better link contaminant-induced shifts in gut microbiota to measurable health outcomes in aquatic species.

2019 Environmental Pollution 261 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigation of microplastic accumulation in Rastrelliger kanagurta fish gut and microplastic degradation behaviour of existing gut bacteria Pseudomonas sp.

Researchers found microplastic accumulation in the gut of Indian mackerel fish and identified a Pseudomonas species from the gut bacteria capable of degrading nylon microplastics, suggesting a potential probiotic role in microplastic breakdown.

2022 Archives of Microbiology 20 citations
Review Tier 2

Histomorphological Changes in Fish Gut in Response to Prebiotics and Probiotics Treatment to Improve Their Health Status: A Review

This review summarizes how prebiotics and probiotics, beneficial supplements added to fish feed, can improve gut health and disease resistance in farmed fish. A healthy gut microbiome is critical for nutrient absorption and immune defense in fish. While not directly about microplastics, the research is relevant because microplastics are known to disrupt gut bacteria in aquatic organisms, and probiotics may help counteract some of those effects.

2023 Animals 71 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbiome Composition and Function in Aquatic Vertebrates: Small Organisms Making Big Impacts on Aquatic Animal Health

This review examines how microbiomes (communities of microorganisms) function in fish and marine mammals, and how environmental stressors like microplastics can disrupt them. Microplastics in water can alter the natural balance of beneficial microbes in aquatic animals, potentially affecting their health and the safety of seafood. Understanding these disruptions matters because changes in fish microbiomes could affect the quality and safety of the fish that end up on our plates.

2021 Frontiers in Microbiology 283 citations