Effect of chronic exposure to microplastic fibre ingestion in the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus

Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety

Lina Sun¹  Qing Wang²  Jinchun Sun³  Libin Zhang⁴  Shilin Liu⁵  Chenggang Lin⁶  Mohamed Mohsen⁷  Hongsheng Yang⁷ 

[1] CAS Engineering Laboratory for Marine Ranching, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China;Center for Ocean Mega-Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China;Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt;Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266237, China;The Innovation of Seed Design, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, China;University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19 A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China;CAS Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China;

关键词: Microplastic fibres;    Toxicity mechanism;    Biomarker;    Antioxidant;    Growth rate;    Immunity;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Microplastics (MPs) in the form of microfibres (MFs) are of great concern because of their size and increasing abundance, which increase their potential to interact with or be ingested by aquatic organisms. Although MFs are the dominant shape of MPs ingested by sea cucumbers in habitats, their effect on sea cucumbers remains unclear. This study examined the effect of dietary exposure to MFs on the growth and physiological status of both juvenile and adult Apostichopus japonicus sea cucumbers. MFs were mixed into the diet of sea cucumbers for 60 d at environmentally relevant concentrations of 0.6 MFs g−1, 1.2 MFs g−1 and 10 MFs g−1. Dietary exposure to MFs, with concentrations at or above those commonly found in the habitats, did not significantly affect the growth and faecal production rate of either juvenile or adult sea cucumbers. However, a disruption in immunity indices (acid phosphatase and alkaline phosphatase activity) and oxidative stress indices (total antioxidant capacity and malondialdehyde content) was observed in juvenile and adult sea cucumbers, indicating that these indices might be useful as potential biomarkers of the exposure to MF ingestion in sea cucumbers. This study provides insights into the toxicity mechanism of MF ingestion in a commercially and ecologically important species.

【 授权许可】

Unknown