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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Ingestion and digestion by the freshwater snail Pomacea canaliculata drive microplastic surface transformations and virus-mediated plastisphere functional shifts
ClearPomacea canaliculata alters the composition, diversity, function, and assembly of bacterial community in freshwater plastisphere, shifting it closer to gut microbiota
Researchers studied how the invasive apple snail affects microbial communities living on microplastic surfaces in freshwater environments. They found that snails actively ingested microplastics and significantly altered the bacterial communities on the plastic surfaces, shifting them to resemble the snails' own gut bacteria and increasing the presence of antibiotic resistance genes. The study reveals that aquatic animals can reshape the microbial ecosystems on microplastics in ways that may spread harmful bacteria and resistance traits.
Adaptive gut microbiota dysbiosis coupled with altered fatty acid metabolism in apple snails (Pomacea canaliculata): A potential strategy against polystyrene microplastic stress
Researchers exposed apple snails to polystyrene microplastics for 21 days and found that higher concentrations reduced food intake and weight gain while causing oxidative stress in intestinal tissues. The microplastics also significantly altered the snails' gut microbiome composition and disrupted fatty acid metabolism. The study suggests that freshwater snails may adapt to microplastic stress through changes in their gut bacteria and metabolic pathways, though at a cost to their overall health.
Impact of microplastics exposure on the reconfiguration of viral community structure and disruption of ecological functions in the digestive gland of Mytilus coruscus
Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastic ingestion affects the viral community in the digestive glands of thick-shelled mussels through a field exposure experiment. They found that microplastic ingestion significantly reduced virome diversity and altered viral community composition, while microplastic biofilms carried abundant antibiotic resistance genes and virulence factors. The findings suggest that microplastics may serve as vectors for spreading resistance genes and destabilizing microbial networks in marine organisms.
Microplastic exposure reshapes the virome and virus–bacteria networks with implications for immune regulation in Mytilus coruscus
Researchers exposed mussels to microplastics for seven days and analyzed how the pollution affected viral communities in their tissues. They found that microplastic exposure suppressed DNA virus diversity while activating RNA viral metabolism, and restructured interactions between bacteria-infecting viruses and opportunistic pathogens. The study suggests that microplastics may influence immune function in shellfish by reshaping the viral community and virus-mediated immune interactions.
Effects of nanoplastic exposure routes on leaf decomposition in streams
Researchers conducted a microcosm experiment showing that dietary exposure to nanoplastics — through eating contaminated leaf litter — more severely disrupts stream food webs than waterborne exposure, reducing microbial enzyme activity, lowering leaf lipid content, and decreasing river snail feeding rates by up to 17%.
Viral diversity and potential environmental risk in microplastic at watershed scale: Evidence from metagenomic analysis of plastisphere
Metagenomic analysis of plastisphere communities on microplastics collected from five freshwater sites revealed diverse viral communities including phages and potential animal pathogens, with plastic-associated viromes differing from those in surrounding water. The study identifies microplastics as previously overlooked carriers of viral diversity and potential environmental health risks in aquatic ecosystems.
Microplastic Passage through the Fish and Crayfish Digestive Tract Alters Particle Surface Properties
Researchers examined how polyethylene microplastics are altered as they pass through the digestive tracts of crucian carp and Australian crayfish. They found that digestive passage significantly damaged particle surfaces and reduced microplastic size without changing chemical composition, and these changes promoted greater bacterial colonization. The findings suggest that animal feeding activity plays an important role in mechanically fragmenting microplastics in aquatic environments.
Assessment of the Effects of Environmental Concentrations of Microplastics on the Aquatic Snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum
Researchers examined the effects of environmentally relevant microplastic concentrations on the freshwater snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum, assessing impacts on this benthic invertebrate in an understudied freshwater ecosystem context.
Dietary consumption of polypropylene microplastics alter the biochemical parameters and histological response in freshwater benthic mollusc Pomacea paludosa
Researchers exposed freshwater snails (Pomacea paludosa) to polypropylene microplastics through their diet at three concentrations over 28 days and measured biochemical and tissue-level responses. They found significant changes in antioxidant enzyme activity and histological damage in the digestive gland, with effects worsening at higher concentrations. The study suggests that dietary microplastic exposure can cause oxidative stress and organ damage in freshwater benthic organisms.
Assessment of oxidative stress, neurotoxicity, genotoxicity and prey-predator interactions in freshwater snails exposed to microplastics
This conference abstract investigates oxidative stress, nerve damage, DNA damage, and changes in predator-prey behavior in freshwater snails exposed to microplastics, pointing to a broad range of harmful biological effects. Understanding these impacts in aquatic invertebrates matters because they occupy important ecological roles and their exposure to microplastics can have cascading effects through food webs.
Impact of Microbial Colonization of Polystyrene Microbeads on the Toxicological Responses in the Sea Urchin .
Sea urchins were more likely to internalize polystyrene microbeads coated with a bacterial biofilm than clean beads, suggesting that the ecological corona of microorganisms on plastic surfaces plays a role in how organisms interact with plastic particles. This finding helps explain how microplastics in the ocean are taken up by marine invertebrates and how the plastisphere changes the ecological risks of plastic pollution.
Mass-based trophic transfer of polystyrene nanoplastics in the lettuce-snail food chain
Researchers traced the trophic transfer of polystyrene nanoplastics from water into lettuce plants and then into garden snails, finding measurable mass-based transfer at each step of the food chain even at low nanoplastic concentrations using pyrolysis-GC/MS quantification.
Impacts of PVC microplastic ingestion on Biomphalaria alexandrina: behavioral, physiological, and histological responses
Researchers exposed the freshwater snail Biomphalaria alexandrina to PVC microplastics and measured behavioral, physiological, and histological outcomes. They found concentration-dependent harm including reduced feeding and survival, oxidative stress, and damage to digestive glands.
Investigating the roles of microbes in biodegrading or colonizing microplastic surfaces
Researchers investigated the roles of microbes in biodegrading or colonizing microplastic surfaces, examining how microbial communities interact with plastic polymers in environmental settings. The study characterized the 'plastisphere' — the community of microorganisms that colonize microplastic surfaces — and assessed the extent to which microbial activity contributes to plastic degradation in natural environments.
Microplastics in freshwaters: Comparing effects of particle properties and an invertebrate consumer on microbial communities and ecosystem functions
Researchers tested how different microplastic properties, including concentration, shape, and polymer type, affect microbial communities and ecosystem functions in freshwater environments. They found that the presence of an invertebrate consumer had a stronger influence on microbial activity than the microplastics themselves, though high concentrations of certain particle shapes did alter community composition. The study suggests that the ecological effects of microplastics in freshwater depend heavily on the broader biological context.
Effects of microsized and nanosized polystyrene on detrital processing and nutrient dynamics in streams
Researchers exposed a stream detrital food chain — leaf-decomposing microbes and a river snail — to nano- and microsized polystyrene particles and found that nanosized particles suppressed microbial growth while boosting certain enzymes, whereas microsized particles reduced leaf nitrogen content and snail feeding, indicating distinct ecological disruption pathways depending on particle size.
Fate and effects of microplastic particles in a periphyton-grazer system
This study examined how microplastic particles interact with periphyton, the biofilm communities coating underwater surfaces, and whether plastics transfer to grazing snails that feed on them. Researchers found that microplastics accumulated in periphyton and were then consumed by the freshwater snail Physa acuta, demonstrating a pathway for plastics to move through the aquatic food web from biofilms to animals.
Habitual feeding patterns impact polystyrene microplastic abundance and potential toxicity in edible benthic mollusks
This study examined how different feeding strategies in edible mollusks affect how many microplastics they accumulate and how toxic the effects are. Researchers found that deposit-feeding snails and filter-feeding clams accumulated microplastics differently, with distinct impacts on digestive enzymes, oxidative stress, and neurotoxicity markers. The findings suggest that a shellfish species' feeding behavior directly influences the microplastic contamination risk for both the animal and human consumers.
The plastisphere ecology: Assessing the impact of different pollution sources on microbial community composition, function and assembly in aquatic ecosystems
Researchers studied the microbial communities living on microplastic surfaces (called the plastisphere) across four different aquatic sites and found that plastics host a distinctly different mix of microbes than the surrounding water, shaped by local pollution sources. These plastic-surface microbes also carry more antibiotic resistance genes and show greater potential for breaking down plastics, making the plastisphere both a health concern and a potential bioremediation resource.
Biodegradation and disintegration of expanded polystyrene by land snails Achatina fulica
Researchers found that the land snail Achatina fulica can ingest expanded polystyrene foam and break it down, with each snail consuming about 18.5 mg over four weeks and achieving a 30.7% mass reduction in egested particles. Chemical analysis confirmed partial biodegradation with the formation of oxidized intermediate compounds, and the snails' gut microbiome shifted significantly after polystyrene ingestion. The study suggests that soil invertebrates like land snails may play a meaningful role in the environmental fate and partial breakdown of polystyrene plastic pollution.
Influence of microplastics on the structure and function of deep-sea communities during long-term enrichment processes
Researchers studied how polystyrene microplastics of different sizes and concentrations affect deep-sea microbial communities over 50 days of incubation. They observed that microorganisms caused visible degradation of the plastic surfaces, while the smallest particles and plastic films significantly inhibited bacterial growth and increased reactive oxygen species production. The study reveals that microplastic pollution can substantially alter deep-sea microbial community structure and function.
Microplastics alter digestive enzyme activities in the marine bivalve, Mytilus galloprovincialis
Researchers incubated Mediterranean mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) with polystyrene and polyethylene microplastics and measured changes in digestive enzyme activity, finding significant reductions in amylase and protease activity, suggesting that microplastics impair nutrient digestion in filter-feeding bivalves.
Exploring the trophic transfer and effects of microplastics in freshwater ecosystems: A focus on Bellamya aeruginosa to Mylopharyngodon piceus
This study tracked how microplastics transfer through a freshwater food chain, from snails to a commercially important fish species in China. The fish steadily accumulated microplastics over five weeks of eating contaminated snails, with particles moving from the gut into muscle tissue and altering gut bacteria to include more potentially harmful species -- highlighting how microplastics in aquatic food chains could ultimately reach people who eat fish.
The ecology of the plastisphere: Microbial composition, function, assembly, and network in the freshwater and seawater ecosystems
Researchers studied the communities of bacteria and fungi that colonize microplastic surfaces in freshwater and seawater, forming what scientists call the plastisphere. These microplastic-associated communities were distinctly different from those in surrounding water, and included a higher proportion of disease-causing organisms and species involved in pollutant degradation. The findings suggest that microplastics create new habitats that can harbor pathogens and alter natural microbial ecosystems in ways that may affect water quality and human health.