Abstract
Microplastics (MPs) are widely spread throughout aquatic systems and water bodies. Given that water quality is one of the most important parameters in the microalgal-based industry, it is critical to assess the biochemical impact of short- and long-term exposure to MPs pollution. Here, the microalga Phaeodactylum tricornutum was exposed to water contaminated with 0.5 and 50 mg L−1 of polystyrene (PS) and/or polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). Results show that the microalgal cultures exposed to lower concentrations of PS displayed a growth enhancement of up to 73% in the first stage (days 3-9) of the exponential growth phase. Surprisingly, and despite the fact that long-term exposure to MPs contamination did not impair microalgal growth, a steep decrease in biomass production (of up to 82%) was observed. The production of photosynthetic pigments was shown to be pH-correlated during the full growth cycle, but cell density-independent in later stages of culturing. The extracellular carbohydrates production exhibited a major decrease during long-term exposure. Still, the production of extracellular proteins was not affected by the presence of MPs. This pilot laboratory-scale study shows that the microalgal exposure to water contaminated with MPs disturbs its biochemical equilibrium in a time-dependent manner, decreasing biomass production. Thus, microalgal industry-related consequences derived from the use of MPs-contaminated water are a plausible possibility.
Highlights
Plastics are synthetic organic polymers with wide applications in the industry, construction, medicine and food protection, due to its versatility, durability and low-cost production
P. tricornutum cell abundance (× 106 mL−1) was determined to evaluate the possible effects of PS and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) microplastics (MPs) exposure
A two-stage response was observed for P. tricornutum, with a polymer- and concentration-specific growth enhancement occurring in an early exponential phase, followed by an adaptive response that lead to a recovery until the stationary phase was reached
Summary
Plastics are synthetic organic polymers with wide applications in the industry, construction, medicine and food protection, due to its versatility, durability and low-cost production. Despite the reports of the presence of MPs in the oceans since the 1970’s (More, 2008; Carpenter and Smith, 1972) and its contribution to severe oceanic pollution, only in the last decade has the issue drawn serious attention of the scientific community. This is largely due to the ubiquitous and almost indestructible nature of MPs, as well as its bioaccumulation in oceans, posing a hazard to marine biota (Cole et al, 2016). PMMA, a high-density plastic, is widely applied industrially and in consumer market products, due to the its high transparency level and corrosion resistance (Zeng et al, 2002)
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