Abstract
Owing to their widespread distribution and high bioaccumulation, microplastics (MPs) and mercury (Hg) are considered major threats to the ocean. MP interacts with Hg because of its high adsorption properties. However, their toxicological interactions with marine organisms, especially combined effects at the molecular level, are poorly understood. This study investigated the single and combined effects of MP and Hg on the metabolic profile of the brackish water flea Diaphanosoma celebensis. A total of 238 metabolites were significantly affected by MP, Hg, or MP + Hg. Metabolite perturbation patterns showed that toxicity of Hg and MP + Hg was similar and that of MP was not significant. Among the 223 metabolites affected by Hg, profiles of 32 unannotated metabolites were significantly different from those of MP + Hg, and combined effects of MP + Hg decreased the effect of Hg on 25 of these metabolites. Only 11 annotated metabolites were significantly affected by Hg or MP + Hg and were related to carbohydrate, lipid, vitamin, and ecdysteroid metabolism. Ten metabolites were decreased by Hg and MP + Hg and were not significantly different between the exposure groups. Enrichment analysis showed that galactose, starch, and sucrose metabolism were the most affected pathways. These findings suggest that MP has negligible toxic effect, and Hg can induce energy depletion, membrane damage, and disruption of growth, development, and reproduction. Although the impact of MP was negligible, the combined effects of MP + Hg could be metabolite specific. This study provides better understanding of the combined effects of MP and Hg on marine organisms.
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Acknowledgements
This research was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (No.2020R1F1A1069736) to Young-Mi Lee, and the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Research Fund (20211441001) and NRF (MSIT project: 2021R1C1C1006155) to Tae-Yong Jeong.
Funding
This research was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (No.2020R1F1A1069736) to Young-Mi Lee, and the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies Research Fund (20211441001) and NRF (MSIT project: 2021R1C1C1006155) to Tae-Yong Jeong.
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YML contributed to conceptualization, writing, review and editing, and funding; T-YJ contributed to writing, review and editing, and funding; J-WY contributed to chemicals exposure, sample preparation, and original draft writing. H-JB contributed to metabolome data analysis, MJJ contributed to culture maintenance and chemical exposure. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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Yoo, JW., Bae, HJ., Jeon, M.J. et al. Metabolomic analysis of combined exposure to microplastics and methylmercury in the brackish water flea Diaphanosoma celebensis. Environ Geochem Health 45, 6807–6822 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-022-01435-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-022-01435-1