Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Physiological effects of plastic particles on mussels are mediated by food presence

Thick shell mussels exposed to polystyrene nanoplastics (70 nm) and microplastics (10 µm) with and without microalgae food found that food presence mediated the physiological effects — microplastics reduced energy budget and increased oxidative stress markers most strongly when food was mixed with particles.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 95 citations
Article Tier 2

Short-term exposure to polystyrene microplastics hampers the cellular function of gills in the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis

Even short-term exposure (72 hours) to polystyrene microplastics disrupted gill function in Mediterranean mussels, a species commonly eaten by humans. The microplastics accumulated in gill tissue and caused metabolic disorders including changes in energy production, nerve signaling, and salt balance, along with oxidative stress. Since mussels are filter feeders that concentrate microplastics from seawater, these findings raise questions about the quality of shellfish as human food.

2023 Aquatic Toxicology 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics-exposure experience aggravates the accumulation of diarrhetic shellfish toxins (DSTs) in thick-shell mussel Mytilus coruscus through impairing detoxification processes

Researchers discovered that mussels previously exposed to microplastics accumulated significantly higher levels of shellfish toxins when later exposed to toxin-producing algae. The prior microplastic exposure impaired the mussels' ability to break down and eliminate the toxins from their bodies. The findings raise concerns that widespread microplastic pollution could increase the risk of shellfish toxin contamination in seafood consumed by humans.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Determination of bioaccumulation of polystyrene nanoplastics in mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis and their impact on enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidative stress mechanisms

Researchers assessed the bioaccumulation of polystyrene nanoplastics in the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis and measured enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant stress responses after 4 days of exposure to 1 mg/L of 54 nm particles. Nanoplastics accumulated in mussel tissues and triggered significant oxidative stress responses, including altered superoxide dismutase and catalase activity, indicating toxicological effects at environmentally relevant concentrations.

2024 Juraj Dobrila University of Pula Digital Repository
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of antioxidant capacity and digestive enzyme activities in Mytilus galloprovincialis exposed to nanoplastics under different patterns of hypoxia

Mytilus galloprovincialis mussels exposed to polystyrene nanoplastics under hypoxic conditions showed compounded antioxidant impairment and digestive enzyme disruption compared to nanoplastic exposure alone. The study highlights that hypoxia, an increasingly common marine stressor, can amplify the toxicity of nanoplastic contamination.

2022 Marine Environmental Research 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Oxidative Stress in Mussel Mytilus trossulus Induced by Different-Sized Plastics

Researchers exposed mussels to both tiny polystyrene microparticles and larger polyethylene plastic fragments and found that both sizes triggered oxidative stress in the animals. The plastic exposure caused DNA damage, weakened cellular membranes, and destabilized immune cell structures in the mussels' gills and digestive glands. The findings indicate that plastics of any size and polymer type can be harmful to marine filter-feeding organisms.

2024 Journal of Xenobiotics 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene nanoplastics in the marine mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis.

This study investigated how polystyrene nanoplastics affect Mediterranean mussels, an important marine species and human food source. Researchers found that these tiny plastic particles can cross cell membranes, accumulate in tissues, and trigger oxidative stress and immune responses. The findings suggest that nanoplastic pollution in the ocean could affect both marine ecosystem health and the safety of seafood consumed by people.

2023 Environmental Pollution 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene nanoplastics affected the nutritional quality of Chlamys farreri through disturbing the function of gills and physiological metabolism: Comparison with microplastics

Researchers exposed scallops to polystyrene microplastics and nanoplastics at environmentally realistic levels and found that both sizes reduced the protein content and overall quality of the edible muscle. Nanoplastics caused more damage than microplastics, disrupting gill function, metabolism, and triggering oxidative stress through mitochondrial damage pathways. This study shows that plastic pollution could reduce the nutritional value of commercially harvested shellfish that people eat.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Comparative evaluation of high-density polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics pollutants: Uptake, elimination and effects in mussel

Researchers compared the accumulation, elimination, and biological effects of high-density polyethylene and polystyrene microplastics in mussels. Both types accumulated primarily in the digestive gland and gills and induced oxidative stress, though most particles were cleared after 144 hours of depuration. Metabolomic analysis revealed that the two polymers affected mussel metabolism differently, with polyethylene showing increased effects even during the elimination period.

2021 Marine Environmental Research 54 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of exposure to nanoplastics on the gill of mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis: An integrated perspective from multiple biomarkers

Researchers exposed Mediterranean mussels to polystyrene nanoplastics for seven days and measured multiple gill biomarkers, finding that nanoplastics triggered oxidative stress, inhibited acetylcholinesterase, disrupted sodium-potassium ion transport, and impaired energy and lipid metabolism, pointing to broad physiological interference in marine invertebrates.

2023 Marine Environmental Research 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Time-dependent metabolic disorders induced by short-term exposure to polystyrene microplastics in the Mediterranean mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis

NMR-based metabolomics of Mediterranean mussels exposed to polystyrene microplastics over 72 hours revealed time-dependent metabolic reprogramming — including changes in energy metabolism, osmolyte levels, and antioxidant responses — providing mechanistic insights into early MP toxicity.

2020 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 110 citations
Article Tier 2

Polystyrene micro and nanoplastics: A comparative study of the cytotoxic effects exerted on Mytilus galloprovincialis gills

Researchers compared the toxic effects of micro-sized and nano-sized polystyrene particles on the gills of Mediterranean mussels. Both sizes caused oxidative damage, tissue alterations, and immune responses, but nanoplastics consistently produced more severe effects. The findings suggest that smaller plastic particles pose a greater threat to the gill function of filter-feeding shellfish, potentially impairing their ability to collect food and breathe.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Different patterns of hypoxia aggravate the toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics in the mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis: Environmental risk assessment of plastics under global climate change

Researchers found that different patterns of hypoxia significantly aggravate the toxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics in mussels, suggesting that climate change-driven oxygen depletion could amplify the environmental risks of plastic pollution in marine ecosystems.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 32 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Exposure to microplastics renders immunity of the thick-shell mussel more vulnerable to diarrhetic shellfish toxin-producing harmful algae

Researchers found that mussels previously exposed to microplastics became more vulnerable to toxic algae blooms, suffering greater immune system damage than mussels without prior microplastic exposure. The microplastics weakened the mussels' defenses by causing oxidative stress, cell death, and energy depletion, leaving them less able to fight off the algal toxins. Since mussels are widely consumed as seafood, this combined threat could affect both marine ecosystems and food safety for humans.

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

Exposure of bay scallop Argopecten irradians to micro-polystyrene: Bioaccumulation and toxicity

Bay scallops exposed to polystyrene microbeads showed accumulation in their digestive tissues and increased activity of antioxidant enzymes, indicating oxidative stress, with effects growing stronger with higher doses and longer exposure. The study confirms that microplastic ingestion can induce a stress response in commercially harvested bivalves.

2020 Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part C Toxicology & Pharmacology 53 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of nanopolystyrene on the feeding behavior of the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis L.)

Researchers investigated how 30-nanometer polystyrene particles affect the feeding behavior of blue mussels. They found that exposure to nanoplastics caused mussels to produce pseudofeces, increase total waste output, and reduce filtering activity, indicating that nanoplastics disrupt normal feeding processes in these organisms.

2012 Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 531 citations
Article Tier 2

Chronic toxicity of polystyrene nanoparticles in the marine mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis

Researchers exposed Mediterranean mussels to polystyrene nanoplastics (50 nm, 10 µg/L) for 21 days and found genotoxicity in blood cells and overwhelmed antioxidant defenses in gills and digestive glands, with gills showing the most severe tissue-level oxidative damage over time.

2021 Chemosphere 70 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined effects of polystyrene microplastics and thermal stress on the freshwater mussel Dreissena polymorpha

Freshwater mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) exposed simultaneously to elevated temperature and microplastics showed greater immune suppression and oxidative stress than mussels exposed to either stressor alone, suggesting climate change warming will amplify microplastic toxicity in freshwater ecosystems.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 78 citations
Article Tier 2

Biomarker Effects of Diesel Fuel Hydrocarbons Absorbed to PE-Plastic Debris on Mussel Mytilus trossulus

Experiments exposing Pacific mussels (Mytilus trossulus) to polyethylene plastic fragments contaminated with diesel fuel hydrocarbons showed that the plastic acted as a vector, delivering petroleum toxins to mussel tissues and causing oxidative stress and lysosomal membrane damage. This demonstrates that plastic debris in the ocean can amplify the toxic impact of chemical pollutants on shellfish and potentially on humans who consume them.

2023 Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Accumulation, Depuration, and Biological Effects of Polystyrene Microplastic Spheres and Adsorbed Cadmium and Benzo(a)pyrene on the Mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis

Researchers found that mussels accumulated polystyrene microplastics in a size- and concentration-dependent manner, and that microplastics acted as carriers for the organic pollutant benzo(a)pyrene but not cadmium, with short-term exposure causing digestive gland alterations.

2022 Toxics 34 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 125 citations
Article Tier 2

Neurotoxicity of polystyrene nanoplastics and their ingestion in the marine mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis

Researchers exposed Mytilus galloprovincialis mussels to 50 nm polystyrene nanoplastics at 10 mg/L for 28 days, measuring acetylcholinesterase activity in gills as a neurotoxicity biomarker and evaluating nanoplastic ingestion in gonad tissue. Downregulation of AChE was observed at 3 and 7 days of exposure, indicating neurotoxic effects, though variability in unexposed control mussels complicated definitive conclusions about the full timeline of effects.

2022 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

The effect of different types of microplastic and acute cadmium exposure on the Mytilus galloprovincialis (Lamarck, 1819)

This study examined how different types of microplastics, alone and combined with cadmium, affect Mediterranean mussels that are widely consumed as seafood. Exposure to microplastics and cadmium caused oxidative stress, tissue damage, and neurotoxicity in the mussels, with combined exposure being worse than either pollutant alone. The health risk calculations for human consumers exceeded safety limits, suggesting that microplastic-contaminated mussels could pose a real food safety concern.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 14 citations