Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Unraveling the interplay between environmental microplastics and salinity stress on Mytilus galloprovincialis larval development: A holistic exploration

Researchers studied how environmental microplastics and increased salinity together affect the early development of Mediterranean mussel larvae. The combination caused larval deformities, developmental problems, and changes in gene activity related to shell formation, stress response, and cell damage. These findings are concerning because climate change is altering ocean salinity in coastal areas where microplastic pollution is also heavy, and mussels are a food source that could pass accumulated microplastics to humans.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Molecular mechanisms controlling physiological plasticity in marine mussels under the influence of natural and anthropogenic stress factors

This thesis project investigated the molecular mechanisms that help Mediterranean mussels cope with environmental stress, including both natural factors and emerging pollutants like microplastics. Understanding these stress responses could help predict how marine shellfish will fare as pollution and climate change intensify.

2021
Article Tier 2

Mussel: a potential pollution indicator in the aquatic ecosystem and effect of climate change

This review examines the biology and ecology of mussels as environmental indicator organisms, covering how they respond to pollution, temperature, and other stressors including microplastics. Mussels are widely used as bioindicators of marine pollution because they filter large volumes of water and accumulate contaminants including microplastic particles in their tissues.

2020 International Journal of Environment and Geoinformatics 6 citations
Article Tier 2

The effect of climate change and microplastics on the physiology of marine invertebrates of economic interest

This thesis examines how climate change and microplastic pollution interact to affect the physiology of marine invertebrates important for aquaculture. Combined stressors were found to have compounding effects on organisms like mussels and oysters, threatening both ecosystems and food security.

2023 LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas)
Article Tier 2

Impacts of microplastic fibres on the marine mussel, Mytilus galloprovinciallis

Scientists exposed marine mussels to dryer lint as a proxy for microplastic fibers from laundry and found physiological changes including reduced clearance rates and histopathological damage to gill and digestive gland tissue.

2020 Chemosphere 98 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Ocean Acidification, Hypoxia, and Warming on the Gut Microbiota of the Thick Shell Mussel Mytilus coruscus Through 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing

Researchers found that combined ocean acidification, hypoxia, and warming significantly altered the gut microbiota of the thick shell mussel Mytilus coruscus, disrupting microbial community structure and potentially compromising host health under future climate scenarios.

2021 Frontiers in Marine Science 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics can aggravate the impact of ocean acidification on the health of mussels: Insights from physiological performance, immunity and byssus properties

Researchers found that the combination of ocean acidification and microplastic exposure weakened mussel immune systems, reduced feeding performance, and degraded the quality of byssus threads used for attachment. The study suggests that co-occurring ocean acidification and microplastic pollution could increase the vulnerability of bivalves to disease and dislodgement, threatening their survival in future marine environments.

2022 Environmental Pollution 69 citations
Article Tier 2

Omics insights in responses of bivalves exposed to plastic pollution

This review examined how advanced molecular analysis technologies are being used to understand how bivalves like mussels and oysters respond to microplastic and nanoplastic exposure at the genetic and protein level. Researchers found that plastic pollution disrupts bivalve behavior, metabolism, and reproduction, and that molecular-level analysis can reveal early warning signs of harm not visible through traditional observation. The findings are relevant to both marine conservation and human food safety, since bivalves are widely consumed seafood that accumulate plastic particles.

2024 Aquatic Toxicology 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Physiological and transcriptome analysis of Mytilus coruscus in response to Prorocentrum lima and microplastics

The combined effects of diarrhetic shellfish toxin and microplastics on the mussel Mytilus coruscus were assessed at physiological and transcriptomic levels, revealing synergistic disruption of immune function, antioxidant responses, and metabolic pathways. The study provides molecular-level evidence of interactive toxicity between two common coastal contaminants.

2022 Frontiers in Marine Science 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Are microplastics impacting shellfish?

Researchers investigated whether microplastic contamination measurably impacts shellfish physiology, growth, reproduction, and health outcomes, assessing the ecological and food safety implications of microplastic exposure in commercially and ecologically important bivalve species.

2024
Article Tier 2

Marine Pollution: Mytilus Galloprovincialis as a Model Organism to Assess Micro- and Nanoplastic Impact

This conference presentation reviews the use of Mytilus galloprovincialis (Mediterranean mussel) as a model organism for assessing micro- and nanoplastic pollution in marine environments, covering bioaccumulation, immune responses, oxidative stress, and reproductive effects.

2025 Journal of Biological Research - Bollettino della Società Italiana di Biologia Sperimentale
Article Tier 2

Responses of Mytilus galloprovincialis in a Multi-Stressor Scenario: Effects of an Invasive Seaweed Exudate and Microplastic Pollution under Ocean Warming

Researchers exposed mussels to a combination of invasive seaweed exudate, polyethylene microplastics, and elevated temperatures to study their combined effects. The study found that simultaneous exposure to all three stressors greatly reduced byssal thread production and depleted antioxidant defenses in gill tissue, suggesting that multiple environmental stressors can amplify harmful effects on marine organisms.

2023 Toxics 9 citations
Article Tier 2

The native mussel Mytilus chilensis genome reveals adaptative molecular signatures facing the marine environment

Researchers sequenced and analyzed the genome of the native Chilean blue mussel Mytilus chilensis, identifying adaptive molecular signatures that reflect the species' responses to diverse marine environmental conditions, with implications for understanding resilience in an aquaculture species reliant on wild seed collection.

2022 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Synthesized effects of medium-term exposure to seawater acidification and microplastics on the physiology and energy budget of the thick shell mussel Mytilus coruscus

Researchers found that combined exposure to ocean acidification and microplastics significantly reduced the feeding rate, food absorption, and energy budget of the thick shell mussel Mytilus coruscus, with acidification amplifying the negative effects of microplastics.

2022 Environmental Pollution 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Exposure of Mytilus galloprovincialis to Microplastics: Accumulation, Depuration and Evaluation of the Expression Levels of a Selection of Molecular Biomarkers

Researchers exposed Mediterranean mussels to a realistic mixture of microplastic types and then tested whether a standard purification process could remove them. They found that purification significantly reduced microplastic contamination in the mussels and that molecular biomarkers in the gills could detect the biological effects of exposure. The study suggests that both purification protocols and molecular monitoring tools could help address microplastic risks in farmed shellfish.

2023 Animals 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigating the combined effects of microplastics and suspended sediment on mussels in controlled experimental conditions.

Researchers investigated the combined effects of microplastics and suspended sediment on mussels under controlled experimental conditions, examining how simultaneous exposure to both stressors affects physiological responses compared to exposure to either stressor alone.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Differential responses of selectively bred mussels (Perna canaliculus) to heat stress—survival, immunology, gene expression and microbiome diversity

This study examined how selectively bred green-lipped mussels respond to heat stress, finding that genetic background significantly influenced survival rates, immune responses, and gene expression during heat challenges. While not directly about microplastics, the research is relevant because environmental stressors like microplastic pollution can compound heat stress effects on shellfish. Understanding how marine organisms cope with stress helps predict how additional pressures from plastic pollution might affect seafood species.

2024 Frontiers in Physiology 15 citations
Article Tier 2

The multiple responses of Mytilus galloprovincialis in the multi-stressor scenario: Impacts of low pH, low dissolved oxygen, and microplastics

Researchers exposed Mediterranean mussels to the combined stressors of low pH, low dissolved oxygen, and microplastics for 15 days. While whole-organism functions like respiration were unaffected, the study found significant cellular-level impacts, suggesting that microplastics interact with ocean acidification and deoxygenation to cause subtle but measurable stress in marine invertebrates.

2025 Marine Pollution Bulletin 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of microplastics exposure on mussel (Mytilus edulis) gut microbiota

Researchers exposed marine mussels (Mytilus edulis) to microplastics and analyzed changes to their gut microbiota, finding significant shifts in microbial community composition that could affect digestion, immunity, and overall health.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 111 citations
Article Tier 2

Use of the Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) filtration function as a sustainable tool for water column microplastic monitoring

Researchers investigated using Mediterranean mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) as living samplers to monitor microplastic levels in seawater, taking advantage of the mussels' natural filter-feeding behavior to concentrate particles from the surrounding water column. This biological monitoring approach could provide a cost-effective and ecologically relevant tool for tracking microplastic pollution.

2024 Repository of the University of Primorsk (University of Primorska)
Article Tier 2

Advancing mussel-based monitoring: integrating litter and harmful algal bloom data into a multi-stressor assessment of England and Wales

Researchers analyzed mussel microplastic data from England and Wales within a multi-stressor framework that also included marine litter and harmful algal bloom data, finding that mussels are suitable sentinel organisms for integrated marine pollution monitoring.

2025 Frontiers in Marine Science
Article Tier 2

From the raw bar to the bench: Bivalves as models for human health.

This review explores how bivalves such as oysters, mussels, and clams are used as model organisms for biological and ecological research, including their roles as biomonitors for pollution. The paper highlights how the genomic tools now available for studying bivalves are advancing understanding of their responses to environmental stressors including microplastic contamination.

2019 Developmental and comparative immunology
Article Tier 2

Biological effects of contaminants in mussels (Mytilus trossulus) transplanted in northern Baltic Sea coastal areas

This thesis used biomarkers in mussels transplanted to contaminated coastal sites in the northern Baltic Sea to assess the effects of various pollutants on mussel health. The work demonstrates how mussels can serve as sensitive indicators of environmental contamination in coastal areas affected by multiple human activities.

2015 Työväentutkimus Vuosikirja 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic pollution and marine mussels: Unravelling disparities in research efforts, biological effects and influences of global warming

This review analyzed 106 studies on how plastic pollution, including microplastics, nanoplastics, and chemicals that leach from plastics, affects marine mussels. The research found effects at every biological level, from molecular and cellular damage to changes in behavior and reproduction. Since mussels are filter feeders that concentrate pollutants and are widely eaten by humans, they serve as both early warning indicators of plastic pollution and a direct pathway for human exposure.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 10 citations