Unraveling individual and combined toxicity of nano/microplastics and ciprofloxacin to Synechocystis sp. at the cellular and molecular levels

Environment International

Xiaoqiang Cao¹  Weiling Sun²  Xuan Zhang³  Jianhua Guo³  Xiuqi You⁴ 

[1] State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of All Material Fluxes in River Ecosystems, International Joint Laboratory for Regional Pollution Control, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100871, China;Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia;College of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, Shandong 266590, China;College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, The Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences, Ministry of Education, Beijing 100871, China;

关键词: Antibiotics;    Microplastics;    Nanoplastics;    Metabolomics;    Toxicity;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Although nanoplastics/microplastics (NPs/MPs) may interact with co-contaminants (e.g. antibiotics) in aquatic systems, little is known about their combined toxicity. Here, we compared the individual toxicity of NPs/MPs or ciprofloxacin (CIP, a very commonly detected antibiotic) and their combined toxicity toward a unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. in terms of the cellular responses and metabolomic analysis. We found that CIP exhibited an antagonistic effect with NPs/MPs due to its adsorption onto the surface of NPs/MPs. Particle size-dependent toxic effects of NPs/MPs were observed. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) was verified as an important factor for NPs/MPs to inhibit cell growth, other than for CIP. Metabolomics further revealed that Synechocystis sp. up-regulated glycerophospholipids, amino acids, nucleotides, and carbohydrates to tolerate CIP pressure. NPs/MPs downregulated the TCA cycle and glycerophospholipids metabolism and impaired the primary production and membrane integrity via adhesion with Synechocystis sp.. Additionally, the toxicity of NPs/MPs throughout ten growth cycles at a sublethal concentration unveiled its potential risks in interfering with metabolism. Collectively, our findings provide insights into the joint ecotoxicity of NPs/MPs and antibiotics, and highlight the potential risks of co-pollutants at environmental relevant concentrations.

【 授权许可】

Unknown