Abstract
The aim of this study is to investigate for the first time the uptake and ecotoxicological effects of nanoplastics (NPs) in a marine cnidarian. Ephyrae of the moon jellyfish Aurelia sp. of different ages (0 and 7 days old) were exposed to negatively charged polystyrene NPs for 24 h; then, the uptake was assessed through traditional and novel techniques, namely microscopy and three-dimensional (3D) holotomography. Immobility and behavioral responses (frequency of pulsations) of ephyrae were also investigated to clarify if NP toxicity differed along the first life stages. NP uptake was observed in ephyrae thanks to the 3D technique. Such internalization did not affect survival, but it temporarily impaired the pulsation mode only in 0 day old ephyrae. This may be ascribed to the negative charged NPs, contributing to jellyfish behavioral alteration. These findings promote 3D holotomography as a suitable tool to detect NPs in marine organisms. Moreover, this study recommends the use of cnidarians of different ages to better assess NP ecotoxicological effects in these organisms, key components of the marine food web.
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Funding
This work has been financially supported under the European JPI Oceans “Response” project (Towards a risk-based assessment of microplastic pollution in marine ecosystems—Grant nr. MICROPLASTICC18_00042), the Research Project of National Relevance (PRIN) 2017 “EMME” (Exploring the fate of Mediterranean microplastics: from distribution pathways to biological effects) and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.4 - Call for tender No. 3138 of 16 December 2021, rectified by Decree n.3175 of 18 December 2021 of Italian Ministry of University and Research funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU (Award number: Project code CN_00000033, Concession Decree No. 1034 of 17 June 2022 adopted by the Italian Ministry of University and Research, CUP B83C22002930006, Project title “National Biodiversity Future Center—NBFC”). MDG has been funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation under the Early PostDoc Mobility Grant.
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EC, CG, and FG conceived of the presented idea. CG and MDG performed the microscopical observations; EC, VP, and RM carried out the ecotoxicological experiments on jellyfish thanks to the support of SL. FS acquired the images and the video with the holotomographic microscopy. EC and CG wrote the manuscript with the support of all co-authors. MF and FG supervised the project. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.
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Costa, E., Gambardella, C., Miroglio, R. et al. Nanoplastic uptake temporarily affects the pulsing behavior in ephyrae of the moon jellyfish Aurelia sp. Ecotoxicology 32, 618–627 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-023-02669-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-023-02669-0