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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Microplastics – An emerging contaminants for algae. Critical review and perspectives
ClearEcotoxicity of micro- and nanoplastics on aquatic algae: Facts, challenges, and future opportunities
This review provides a comprehensive assessment of how micro- and nanoplastics harm aquatic algae, which form the base of ocean and freshwater food chains. The toxic effects include reduced growth, oxidative stress, and disrupted photosynthesis, with nanoplastics generally causing more damage than larger particles. Since algae support the entire aquatic food web, their decline from plastic pollution could reduce the quality and safety of fish and shellfish consumed by people.
Research advances on impacts micro/nanoplastics and their carried pollutants on algae in aquatic ecosystems: A review
This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics harm algae, which are the foundation of aquatic food chains, by slowing growth, reducing photosynthesis, and damaging cells. The effects are worse when microplastics carry other pollutants on their surfaces, creating a combined toxic effect. Since algae support the entire aquatic food web, damage to these organisms can ripple upward through fish and shellfish to affect the safety of seafood consumed by humans.
Effects of microplastics on microalgae populations: A critical review
This critical review examines how microplastics affect microalgae populations, which are essential primary producers at the base of aquatic food webs. Researchers found that microplastics can reduce algal growth, impair photosynthesis, and cause oxidative stress, with effects varying by plastic type, size, and concentration. The study highlights that harm to microalgae from plastic pollution could have cascading effects throughout entire aquatic ecosystems.
Effects of microplastics on freshwater and marine microalgae
This book chapter reviews the effects of microplastics on freshwater and marine microalgae, covering how different plastic types and sizes affect algal growth, photosynthesis, and reproduction. Microalgae form the base of aquatic food webs, so plastic-induced disruption to algal communities could have cascading effects throughout ecosystems.
Effects of nanoplastics on microalgae and their trophic transfer along the food chain: recent advances and perspectives
This review summarized evidence on how nanoplastics affect microalgae — including growth inhibition, oxidative stress, and altered photosynthesis — and examined trophic transfer of nanoplastics up the food chain, finding that toxicity depended on NP concentration, size, and surface charge.
Micro/nanoplastic-induced stress in microalgae: Latest laboratory evidence and knowledge gaps
This review compiled laboratory evidence on how micro- and nanoplastics stress microalgae — the base of aquatic food webs — covering effects on photosynthesis, growth, oxidative stress, and toxin production. The authors identify key knowledge gaps including environmentally realistic concentrations and combined contaminant effects.
Recent progress on the toxic effects of microplastics on Chlorella sp. in aquatic environments
This review summarizes research on how microplastics affect Chlorella, a type of green algae that forms the base of aquatic food chains. Microplastics can slow algae growth, cause oxidative stress, and disrupt photosynthesis, which matters for human health because damage to these foundational organisms can ripple up through the food web and affect the quality of water and seafood.
Micro- and Nanoplastic Exposure Effects in Microalgae: A Meta-Analysis of Standard Growth Inhibition Tests
This meta-analysis examines how micro- and nanoplastic particles affect the growth of microalgae, which form the base of aquatic food chains. The results show mixed outcomes, with some studies finding growth inhibition and others finding stimulation. Understanding how microplastics affect algae is important because disruptions at the base of the food chain can cascade up to the fish and seafood we eat.
Distribution of Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Aquatic Ecosystems and Their Impacts on Aquatic Organisms, with Emphasis on Microalgae
This review covers the distribution of microplastics and nanoplastics in aquatic ecosystems and their impacts on aquatic organisms from bacteria to fish, with a focus on effects on microalgae as primary producers. The authors highlight that nanoplastics may be more biologically active than microplastics due to their size and surface reactivity, warranting greater research attention.
Micro/nano-plastics and microalgae in aquatic environment: Influence factor, interaction, and molecular mechanisms.
This review examined the interactions between micro/nanoplastics and microalgae in aquatic environments, summarizing how plastic particle size, surface chemistry, and co-pollutants influence algal toxicity through oxidative stress, photosynthesis inhibition, and gene expression changes.
Evaluating physiological responses of microalgae towards environmentally coexisting microplastics: A meta-analysis
A meta-analysis of 52 studies found that microplastics inhibit microalgal growth and photosynthesis and induce oxidative damage, though microalgae can recover over time. Cyanobacteria are more vulnerable than green algae, and the relative size of microplastics to algal cells governs the mechanism of impact, while aged versus pristine microplastics have opposite effects on extracellular polymeric substance and microcystin production.
Effect of microplastics exposure on the photosynthesis system of freshwater algae
Researchers investigated how polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride microplastics affect the photosynthesis system of freshwater algae and found that both types reduced chlorophyll content and impaired photosynthetic efficiency. The damage was concentration-dependent and worsened over the growth period. The study highlights that microplastic pollution in freshwater can harm algae, which form the base of aquatic food chains.
Implication of microplastic toxicity on functioning of microalgae in aquatic system
This review examined how microplastics interact with and affect microalgae, which serve as primary producers in aquatic ecosystems. Researchers analyzed the toxic effects of both single and mixed plastic particles on microalgae cells, including impacts on photosynthesis, growth, and cellular function. The study highlights that microplastic toxicity to microalgae could have cascading effects throughout aquatic food webs.
Progress in the Study of Toxic Effects of Microplastics on Organisms in Freshwater Environments and Human Health
This review summarizes the toxic effects of microplastics on algae, aquatic animals, and human health in freshwater environments. Microplastics harm freshwater organisms through oxidative stress, inflammation, and disruption of normal biological functions, with effects that can accumulate up the food chain. The study highlights the urgent need for better plastic waste management to protect both freshwater ecosystems and the human communities that depend on them.
The microplastic menace: a critical review of its impact on marine photoautotrophs and their environment
This review examines how microplastics interact with marine macro- and microalgae, covering environmental prevalence, genetic responses to MP exposure, and mitigation strategies. It finds that annual introduction of 28.5 million tons of plastic into oceans threatens marine primary producers and indirectly affects marine food webs and human health through the consumption of contaminated seafood.
Concentration dependent toxicity of microplastics to marine microalgae
A dose-response study of microplastic effects on marine microalgae found concentration-dependent toxicity across multiple species, with higher MP concentrations reducing growth rates, photosynthesis efficiency, and chlorophyll content, confirming that microplastics pose risks to the base of marine food webs.
Effects of microplastics on the growth, photosynthetic efficiency and nutrient composition in freshwater algae Chlorella vulgaris Beij
Researchers tested how polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics affect the freshwater algae Chlorella vulgaris and found that smaller particles and higher concentrations caused more harm. The microplastics reduced algal growth, photosynthetic efficiency, and disrupted nutrient composition over the 11-day experiment. Since algae form the base of aquatic food chains, this damage could ripple upward through ecosystems that ultimately connect to human food sources.
Impact of plastic contaminants on marine ecosystems and advancement in the detection of micro/nano plastics: A review
This review summarizes how micro and nanoplastics harm marine life at every level of the food chain, from algae to fish, causing neurotoxicity, gut inflammation, and reproductive damage. The authors also review advances in detection technology, including sensors that can identify tiny plastic particles in water. Understanding how microplastics accumulate through marine food webs is critical because seafood is a major pathway for human microplastic exposure.
Effect and mechanism of microplastics exposure against microalgae: Photosynthesis and oxidative stress
Meta-analysis of 55 studies (835 endpoints) found that microplastics reduce chlorophyll-a content and hinder electron transfer in microalgae photosynthetic systems, causing oxidative stress damage. Effects were concentration- and size-dependent, with freshwater microalgae more susceptible than marine species.
Meta-analysis for systematic review of global micro/nano-plastics contamination versus various freshwater microalgae: Toxicological effect patterns, taxon-specific response, and potential eco-risks
A meta-analysis of 1,071 observations found that nanoplastics cause more severe cell membrane damage than microplastics, while microplastics more strongly inhibit photosynthesis in freshwater microalgae. Among polymer types, polyamide caused the highest growth inhibition, polystyrene induced the most toxin release, and diatoms were the most sensitive algal group while cyanobacteria showed exceptional resilience.
Evidence that microplastics at environmentally relevant concentration and size interfere with energy metabolism of microalgal community
In a community of three algae species, environmentally realistic concentrations of micron-sized microplastics reduced sugar production and increased energy consumption in the cells. The microplastics interfered with algal movement, nutrient absorption, and caused lasting oxidative stress and DNA damage. Since algae are the foundation of aquatic food chains, this disruption at realistic pollution levels could ripple through ecosystems that ultimately affect human food sources.
Algae for plastic biodegradation
This review examines how algae interact with microplastics in marine environments, both as organisms harmed by plastic pollution and as potential agents for plastic biodegradation. Microplastics reduce algal photosynthesis and growth, while algal extracellular polymeric substances can trap and sink microplastic particles. Algae-driven biodegradation represents a promising avenue for reducing the persistence of microplastic contamination in the ocean.
Microplastics in wastewater treatment plants: Detection, occurrence and removal
Researchers investigated how polystyrene nanoplastics affect the marine microalga Chaetoceros neogracile and found that exposure reduced growth and photosynthetic activity. The nanoplastics physically attached to the algal cells and triggered oxidative stress, suggesting they can interfere with the base of the marine food web. The study raises concerns that nanoplastic pollution could have cascading effects on ocean ecosystems by harming the tiny organisms that produce much of the world's oxygen.
Potential for Using Algae to Reduce Microplastics in the Environment
This review examined the potential of algae to reduce microplastic pollution both by adsorbing and intercepting plastic particles in water and by serving as a feedstock for biosynthesizing biodegradable bioplastics as alternatives to petroleum-based materials.