Abstract
Microplastics are regarded as ubiquitous pollutants in the ocean and have attracted worldwide concerns. Benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), one of typical polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), is commonly detected in marine environment. Once coexisted, the microplastics and B[a]P may interact with each other and result in combined toxicity to organisms, and these remain to be systematically elucidated. Thus, this study aims to investigate (i) the effects of single micro-sized polystyrene (mPS), polyethylene terephthalate (mPET), and B[a]P on cell growth of Chaetoceros muelleri; and (ii) the interaction of microplastics and B[a]P, and their combined effects on C. muelleri. The results showed that both single microplastics and B[a]P at a high concentration of 150 μg/L inhibited the growth of C. muelleri. For single treatment of microplastics, stronger inhibition effects on microalgae was caused by mPET than that of mPS, with the highest IR of 25.23 and 11.17%, respectively. This may be attributed to the obvious surface roughness of mPET. By comparison, the combined effects of microplastics and B[a]P significantly inhibited the growth of C. muelleri as compared with the single treatment of B[a]P (P < 0.05). Synergistic effect was found in the combination of microplastics with B[a]P at high concentrations of 150 μg/L. Interestingly, the antagonistic effect on C. muelleri was observed in the combined treatment of microplastics and B[a]P at low concentrations of 10 μg/L. In addition, the pollutants reduced the content of photosynthetic pigments in microalgal cells. The SOD and MDA content of microalgae increased in the early stage of exposure to pollutants (e.g., Days 1 and 5), but decreased in the later stage (Day 15) compared with the control group. The decreased superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity in single and composite systems may indicate that the antioxidative enzymatic system of microalgae has been inhibited or destroyed. This study will be helpful to further explore the ecological threats of microplastics and PAHs to the marine ecosystem.
Highlights
Large quantities production (3.59 trillion tons in 2018) of plastics (EuropePlastics, 2019) would result in the accumulation of ubiquitous microplastics (
The functional groups of the two microplastics are different, for example, micro-sized polystyrene (mPS) has a stronger intensity of hydroxyl groups (−OH, ∼3,400 cm−1), carboncarbon double bond (C = C, ∼1,642 cm−1), carbonyl group (C = O, ∼1,710 cm−1) and C-O stretching of phenolic (C-O, ∼1,260 cm−1), but with a weakened intensity of methylene (CH2, ∼2,926 cm−1) as compared with those of mPET (Figure 2)
This study investigated the single and combined effects of microplastics and B[a]P on microalgae C. muelleri
Summary
Large quantities production (3.59 trillion tons in 2018) of plastics (EuropePlastics, 2019) would result in the accumulation of ubiquitous microplastics (
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
