Ingestion of microplastics by Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis): Influence of particle size on histopathological and oxidative stress responses

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Ingestion of microplastics by Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis): Influence of particle size on histopathological and oxidative stress responses Cátia Gonçalves1*, Marta G. Martins1, Paula Sobral1 and Maria Helena Costa1 1 Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia - Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Portugal Plastic debris is ubiquitous in the marine environments due to its intrinsic properties (e.g. buoyancy) and the growing dependence on plastic consumption all over the world . Due to their small size, microplastics have become a potential threat to the marine biota. Ingestion of microplastics has previously demonstrated in several marine organisms, from zooplankton to bivalve and fish. Although some organisms have the ability to excrete the ingested microplastics, the potential effects at organ and tissue level are poorly studied, especially considering different microplastic sizes. The present work evaluates the potential effects and responses of ingested microplastics by the Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and their relationship with the ingestion rate and residence time of microplastics in the organism. For this purpose, mussels were exposed to three different polystyrene microparticles sizes (2um, 6um, 10um), in single and combined environmentally-relevant concentrations (10 and 1000 particles.mL-1), under controlled laboratory conditions. The ingestion rate and residence time of microplastics were calculated taking account the density and particle size data analysed by Coulter counter assay. Histopathological alterations and oxidative stress biomarkers (e.g. lipid peroxidation, total glutathione, catalase and glutathione S–transferase activity) were assessed in gills and digestive gland. The results showed distinct ingestion rates and residence time of each assayed tested microplastics. Although histopathological analyses revealed the presence of microparticles, tissue alterations were not severe. In general, oxidative responses were directly related with microparticles size. These results stress the importance of considering distinct microplastic size, for they generate distinct effects to this marine organism, implying potential effects in the marine food web. Keywords: microplastic uptake, Mediterranean mussel, Oxidative Stress biomarkers, Plastic debris, Ecotoxicology Conference: IMMR | International Meeting on Marine Research 2016, Peniche, Portugal, 14 Jul - 15 Jul, 2016. Presentation Type: Poster presentation Topic: Biodiversity, Conservation and Coastal Management Citation: Gonçalves C, Martins MG, Sobral P and Costa M (2016). Ingestion of microplastics by Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis): Influence of particle size on histopathological and oxidative stress responses. Front. Mar. Sci. Conference Abstract: IMMR | International Meeting on Marine Research 2016. doi: 10.3389/conf.FMARS.2016.04.00080 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 30 Apr 2016; Published Online: 13 Jul 2016. * Correspondence: Ms. Cátia Gonçalves, Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia - Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Departamento de Ciências e Engenharia do Ambiente, Caparica, Portugal, cv.goncalves@campus.fct.unl.pt Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Cátia Gonçalves Marta G Martins Paula Sobral Maria Helena Costa Google Cátia Gonçalves Marta G Martins Paula Sobral Maria Helena Costa Google Scholar Cátia Gonçalves Marta G Martins Paula Sobral Maria Helena Costa PubMed Cátia Gonçalves Marta G Martins Paula Sobral Maria Helena Costa Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.