Realistic environmental exposure to secondary PET microplastics induces biochemical responses in freshwater amphipod Hyalella azteca

ABSTRACT

Freshwater environments are especially susceptible to microplastic contamination due to their proximity to urbanised and industrial areas. Also, there is a lack of information about the effects of this pollutant on freshwaters making it difficult the conservation of these environments. Benthic species, such as the freshwater amphipod Hyalella azteca, have been superficially studied so far for evaluation of microplastic pollution. In the present study, we analyzed whether polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastics could lead to reduced survival of H. azteca or changes in biochemical markers (SOD, CAT, MDA, and GST) at environmentally relevant concentrations (60 and 600 particles) after 7 d of exposure. The results showed that there was no significant mortality at any of the concentrations tested. The enzyme CAT showed no variation compared to the control group at any of the concentrations. SOD, MDA, and GST were statistically different (p < 0.05). Our study demonstrated that PET MP did not affect the survival of H. azteca at environmentally relevant concentrations. However, changes in biomarkers of oxidative stress may be detected at low level of exposure (60 particles). Although survival is not affected, the macrobenthic invertebrate community may be under threat in environments where there is PET microplastic pollution.

KEYWORDS:

• Amphipoda
• oxidative stress
• polyethylene terephthalate
• invertebrate
• biomarkers

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Pro-Rectory of Research of the University of São Paulo, the Sao Paulo State Research Support Foundation (FAPESP) (Process 2019/10845-4), the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) (Processes 303660/2016-3; 301559/2018-0), and the Dr. Federico David Brown Almeida, supervisor of the Laboratory of Developmental Biology (EvoDevo) of the University of São Paulo.

Disclosure statement

All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organisation or entity with any financial interest or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.

Credit authorship contribution statement

Lucas Gonçalves Queiroz: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Data curation, Investigation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review and editing, Funding acquisition. Bárbara Rani-Borges: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Data curation, Investigation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review, and editing. Caio César Achiles do Prado: Formal analysis, Data curation, Writing – original draft. Beatriz Rocha de Moraes: ATR-FTIR formal analysis, Data curation. Rômulo Augusto Ando: ATR-FTIR formal analysis, Data curation, Writing – review, and editing. Teresa Cristina Brazil de Paiva: Formal analysis and funding acquisition. Marcelo Pompêo: Supervision, Writing – review and editing, Funding acquisition.

Data availability statement

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Pro-Rectory of Research of the University of São Paulo (Grant PIPAE/2021).

Notes on contributors

Lucas Gonçalves Queiroz

Lucas Gonçalves Queiroz, Post-doc researcher in Ecology

Bárbara Rani-Borges

Bárbara Rani-Borges, Ph.D. student at the Institute of Science and Technology

Caio César Achiles Prado

Caio César Achiles Prado, Ph.D. student at the Department of Biotechnology

Beatriz Rocha de Moraes

Beatriz Rocha de Moraes, Ph.D. student at the Department of Fundamental Chemistry

Rômulo Augusto Ando

Rômulo Augusto Ando, Professor at the Department of Fundamental Chemistry

Teresa Cristina Brazil de Paiva

Teresa Cristina Brazil de Paiva, Professor at the Department of Environmental Sciences

Marcelo Pompêo

Marcelo Pompêo, Professor at the Institute of Biosciences